Poland's nuclear programme making good progress, says IAEA : New Nuclear

Ceyhan, right, presents the draft report to Motyka (Image: Polish Climate Ministry)

An International Atomic Energy Agency review mission has praised steps taken to develop the necessary infrastructure for a safe and sustainable nuclear power programme in Poland. Meanwhile, Bechtel marks the start of site field work for the country's first nuclear power plant.

The 11-day IAEA mission to Poland - a Phase 2 Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review - took place from 15 to 25 April at the invitation of the Polish government and used the IAEA's Milestones Approach to review the status of 19 nuclear infrastructure issues. The aim is the check the readiness of a country to invite bids or negotiate a contract for their first nuclear power plant.

The 10-person team "identified good practices that would benefit other countries developing nuclear power in the areas of contracting approach, strategic approach to funding, early authorisation of technical support organisations to support the nuclear regulator, engagement with the electrical grid operator, stakeholder involvement and industrial involvement".

Mission team leader Mehmet Ceyhan, Technical Lead of the IAEA Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section, said: "The Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PNPP) was initiated with clear objectives and is progressing towards the construction stage in a structured way. We observed strong and dedicated teams in each of the key organisations that will help to achieve the government’s objectives for the PNPP."

Among the areas highlighted for further action was "the need to further review its legal and regulatory framework, and finalise the preparatory work required for the contracting and construction stages".

Miłosz Motyka, Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland, said: "Poland's cooperation with the IAEA is a long-term collaboration, and the review mission is extremely valuable and beneficial for the implementation and execution of the Polish nuclear power programme."

The collaboration with the IAEA also involved a September 2023 Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission to the country which found Poland's nuclear regulatory framework met IAEA safety standards.

Field work getting under way

Meanwhile, a symbolic kick-off ceremony was held by US-firm Bechtel at its Warsaw office to mark the start of geological surveys for Poland's first nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Pomeranian municipality of Choczewo.

Bechtel is a member of the US consortium responsible for the implementation of the nuclear power plant project which is set to feature three Westinghouse AP1000 units. The field work is due to start in May on an area covering about 30 hectares with approximately 220 research points being constructed with depths of 20 to 210 metres. Bechtel has awarded the contract for the geological work to PSD Poland, with the work expected to be completed in November.

The findings will be crucial for the earthworks design for the plant and will also inform the Location Report which Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) will need to submit to obtain a construction permit from Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency, the PPA.

The event was attended by the US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, who called it "another important step forward as Poland and the United States work together to create a civil nuclear industry in Poland, and it shows that the United States is delivering on our shared commitment to Poland’s energy security and supporting Poland’s energy transition".

Leszek Hołda, Bechtel Poland Country Manager, said: "The commencement of the initial fieldwork for the construction of this plant is a significant moment for the Polish economy, the companies that will participate in the supply chain, and the local community."

Leszek Juchniewicz, a member of the board of directors and acting president of PEJ, said this was an important time for the enterprise and showed that "the project to build Poland's first nuclear power plant is gaining momentum".

Project background

PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by the State Treasury - is responsible for the construction project of the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ. The Ministry of Climate and Environment in July issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant. The aim is for Poland's first AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation in 2033.

Under an engineering services agreement signed in September last year, in cooperation with PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for a plant featuring three AP1000 reactors. The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant: the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility. The contract also involves supporting the investment process and bringing it in line with current legal regulations in cooperation with the PAA and the Office of Technical Inspection.Researched and written by World Nuclear News Poland's nuclear programme making good progress, says IAEA : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

Read More........ → May 04, 2024

SES to buy Intelsat for $3.1bn

Posted by Georgia Sweeting: The deal comes less than a year after the two companies broke off merger talks

Luxemburg-based satellite company SES has signed a deal to buy Intelsat Holdings for $3.1 billion.

A joint press release from the two companies explained the combination as creating “a stronger multi-orbit operator with greater coverage, improved resiliency, expanded suite of solutions, enhanced resources to profitably invest in innovation, and benefit from the collective talent, expertise, and track record of both companies.”

Once combined, SES’s orbital assets will include 100 Geostationary Earth Orbit and 26 Medium Earth Orbit satellites.

The deal gives Intelsat an enterprise value stands of $5 billion, with SES suggesting the deal will deliver synergies worth €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion).

“Going forward, customers will benefit from a more competitive portfolio of solutions with end-to-end offerings in valuable Government and Mobility segments, combined with value-added, efficient, and reliable offerings for Fixed Data and Media customers,” said SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh.

Rumours related to a potential acquisition had first began to swirl last year, with SES confirming talks were taking place in a statement. However, these discussions appeared to fizzle out, leaving it unclear if discussions were ongoing.

Now, the deal has been unanimously approved by both company boards and is expected to close in the latter half of next year, pending regulatory approval.

The deal represents the latest stage in consolidation of the global satellite industry, as European companies attempt to compete against newer rivals such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, which launched in 2019 and has come to dominate in terms of sheer scale.

However, in terms of financials and with its well-established customer base, this newly combined SES–Intelsat could become an even more significant player in the satellite communications industry.

Indeed, some industry onlookers suggest that this combination could itself create a dominant market leader.

“The combined entity is poised to be the world’s largest satellite company in terms of revenue, and could dominate the market, leveraging its extensive resources and expertise to shape the future of satellite communications and deliver on new use cases,” commented Christof Kern, Business Development Lead in Satellite & Space at satellite consultancy TTP.

In related news, this week Intelsat announced that it will install and operate ruggedised multi-orbit satellite terminals on farm equipment from CNH in remote areas of Brazil. This will enable farmers to effectively implement precision farming, the practice of using technology to use precise amounts of water, fertiliser, and pesticides to maximise crop yield. The satellites will provide the connectivity allowing farmers to implement the practice. Source: https://totaltele.com/author/georgia-sweeting/e: 

Read More........ → May 02, 2024

Solar Balconies Are Booming in Germany and You Can Plug in and Install Them Yourself

A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.

Solar panels are finding their way onto all sorts of surprising surfaces, and now Central Europeans are beginning to line their balcony rails with them; because why not?

To mark the 70th anniversary of the solar cell’s mainstream entry into society, data acquired by Euronews claims that 400,000 German households have already connected their verandas and balconies to solar panels.

New data shows at least 50,000 of the PV devices were added in the first quarter of 2024 alone.

Easy to install—such that many do it themselves, the technology makes every bit of sense as rooftop PV solar panels. In the Northern Hemisphere, during the winter months especially, the sun comes at such a shallow angle that panels on a balcony may even exceed the power generation of those mounted on a roof.

They won’t generate more power, because they’re plugged into smaller sockets, but they present less of a hazard than rooftop solar, and may not even require installation fees. They can also be installed where people may not have the requisite sunlight, the property access, or the structural strength to install rooftop panels.

Jan Osenberg, a policy advisor at the SolarPower Europe association, told Euronews that 200 megawatts is a rough estimate of how much electricity is generated by solar balconies, compared to 22 gigawatts from all of Germany’s rooftop solar panels.

The technology has been a boom in Germany’s strong solar culture. More power is generated by solar in Germany than any other country in Europe.

A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.

“Rooftop solar really has this empowering momentum that people who start to have a solar system, they start to track their electricity consumption, they start to feel themselves as being someone who is a frontrunner in the energy transition, someone who supports the energy transition and is already a part of it,” says Osenberg.

Some German states offer subsidies for a solar balcony kit, which pays for itself in electricity savings after around 3-5 years of its 20-year lifespan. However, at 24 kilograms—over 50 pounds—installation needs to be taken deadly seriously, as a panel falling three or four stories onto someone might be lights out.

Europe has been getting progressively more inventive with the placement of its solar panels. GNN has reported on solar power installations. Source: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/solar-balconies-are-booming-in-germany-and-you-can-plug-in-and-install-them-yourself/

Read More........ → April 27, 2024

New study reveals the world’s most searched-for jobs

In 2019, Brother UK, the office electronics supplier, analysed a year’s worth of Google search data. The study revealed the most popular jobs worldwide, and they discussed whether culture and economy impacted careers globally.

In 2023, Brother UK conducted a new study investigating how the global job market has changed in the last three years. Brother UK wanted to determine whether a pandemic, economic uncertainties, remote/hybrid working, and AI technologies have transformed how the world searches for jobs.

The most searched-for jobs in the UK

Teaching assistant jobs are still the most searched-for in the UK. However, there are signs that interest may be waning. In 2019, over 288,000 people searched Google for teaching assistant roles. But since 2020, the average yearly searches have shrunk by 5% to 275,000.

UK search data shows that the most significant search increase in the education sector was from qualified teaching positions. While teachers still wish to continue teaching, they may consider switching schools for better career prospects.

A recent poll from the National Education Union showed that teachers were more likely to look for a promotion at another school rather than at the school where they were currently employed.

In 2019, the second and third most searched-for jobs in the UK were estate agents, with 105,700 searches and project managers, with 99,300 searches. While searches for both jobs increased, they were knocked out of the top five by a surge of interest in teaching and cabin crew jobs.

The aviation industry experienced heavy turbulence at the start of the pandemic due to fewer flights. As international travel restrictions were gradually lifted, airlines that managed to weather the storm have needed to rehire talent back into the workforce.

Photography jobs saw one of the most significant declines in UK searches. Searches for photography roles fell by 17% and failed to make the 10 most searched-for jobs in 2023. Stock image photographers are also facing steep competition from AI, which can produce photorealistic artwork cheaply.

The most searched-for jobs in the UK:

1 Teaching assistant 

2 Cleaner 

3 Teacher 

4 Cabin crew 

5 Project manager 

6 Human resources 

7 Estate agent 

8 Receptionist 

9 Graphic designer 

10 Accountant 

*Avg. yearly searches for listed jobs

The most searched-for jobs in Europe

Across the continent, human resources careers emerged as the most searched-for. However, our study revealed that there were regional variations depending on the job market in each country.

Germany saw the highest search volumes for firefighter jobs. Data from the Economic Research Institute indicates that firefighters in Germany can expect to earn around €45,931 per year. While this is slightly below Germany’s national average salary, the outlook for firefighters is positive. Over the past five years, firefighter salaries have increased by 18%, with predictions their wages will continue to grow in the coming years.

Teaching assistants emerged as the second most searched job in Europe, with most searches coming from the UK. European countries outside the UK, specifically Ireland and Germany, also saw significant growth in teaching assistant roles.

The most searched-for jobs in Europe:

1 United Kingdom Teaching Assistant 

2 Germany Firefighter 

3 Spain Airline pilot 

4 France Animator 

5 Switzerland Admin 

6 Austria Courier 

7 Belgium Nurse aide 

8 Portugal Airline pilot 

9 Cyprus Cabin crew 

10 Malta Airline pilot 

*Avg. yearly searches for listed jobs

The world’s most searched-for jobs, overall

Interest in human resources was not limited to European countries. Global job search data revealed that HR jobs were the most sought-after globally. The US led the way, with the highest volume of HR job searches in the last three years, followed by the UK and India.

There was a substantial increase in the number of job searches. Accounting jobs were identified as the second most searched in the world, seeing average yearly search volumes double, reflecting a considerable increase in demand. This is beaten by the rise in demand for graphic design roles, which tripled.

Job searches around the world:

1 Human resources 

2 Accountant 

3 Graphic designer 

4 Mechanical engineer 

5 Civil engineer 

6 Data analyst 

7 Cleaner 

8 Receptionist 

9 Teacher 

10 Journalist 

*Avg. yearly searches for listed jobs

The search for science and technology jobs

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) jobs have been in high demand, crucial for driving innovation and advancing society. In our previous study, mechanical engineering stood out as the most sought-after job within STEM and the most searched job globally.

Mechanical engineering continues to be a highly sought-after career path, with a 77% increase in average yearly searches for engineering jobs. Unsurprisingly, mechanical engineering remained the most searched-for STEM job globally, with many searches coming from South Africa, which saw an average yearly search volume of 123,730.

A standout data trend was the growing searches for careers in data analytics. Global job searches for data analytics hit a yearly average of 780,677, making the top 10 which it had failed to reach previously. The US, UK and Canada job markets were most interested in data analytics careers.

Science & Technology job searches:

1 India Civil engineer 

2 USA Data analyst 

3 UK Data analyst 

4 South Africa Mechanical engineer 

5 Canada Data analyst 

*Avg. yearly searches for listed jobs

The most caring countries

In 2019, Australia was found to be the most caring country, with Australians searching for more jobs in social care than other professions. Since 2020, little has changed. Our friends Down Under might be even more caring, with average yearly searches for social care jobs increasing by 48%.

Our job search data suggests that Mexico is among the most caring countries, with nursing being the most-searched job in Mexico.

It’s not surprising that nursing is a popular job search in Mexico. In addition to helping others, Mexican nurses receive better pay and job security than other jobs in the country. According to data from the Mexican Competitions Institute, nursing is the seventh most sought-after job in the country. Nurses can expect to be paid 34% more than the median national income.

Social care sector job searches:

1 Spain Nurse aide 

2 Australia Social worker 

3 Colombia Nurse aide 

4 Mexico Nurse 

5 France Caregiver 

6 Ireland Social worker 

*Avg. yearly searches for listed jobs

Finance-focused countries

In the last three years, several countries have been making money moves. In 2019, the top country for accounting roles was the US, and this remains unchanged. In fact, there has been a 3.2% increase in yearly searches for accounting jobs in the US.

In 2019, Canada followed closely behind their North American neighbours, ranking second as the country with the most job searches in finance. Like the USA, the average yearly searches for accountant jobs in Canada have increased by 23% in the last three years. Despite this, Canada was outpaced by noticeable increases in India and the UK.

The professional services focus on finance jobs has extended beyond India and the UK. Previously, Singapore, the UAE and Kenya also appeared in the top 10 for job searches in accountancy. Like Canada, all three countries saw search volumes for accountant jobs increase by 38%. However, they were outpaced by Germany and South Africa.

Finance sector job searches:

1 UK 

2 India 

3 USA 

4 Canada 

5 South Africa 

6 Germany 

*Avg. yearly searches for accountant/accounting jobsYou can find more information about the research here: https://www.brother.co.uk/business-solutions/worlds-most-searched-for-jobs New study reveals the world’s most searched-for jobs

Read More........ → April 10, 2024

Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, announces abdication

Margrethe II in 2012, Image: Johannes Jansson.

During her annual New Year's Eve address on Sunday, Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, informed the public that she planned to step down on January 14. Crown Prince Frederik, her oldest son, is to succeed her.

She is 83 years old and has served as Queen for nearly 52 years. In her live television address, Margrethe also discussed global issues like climate change.

In Denmark, the monarch serves as head of state; the parliament is in charge of forming the government.

Margrethe received high levels of support from the Danish people, with about 80 percent of the public approving of her as of 2022. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed gratitude for the queen's decades of service on the throne, calling her the "epitome of Denmark" in a statement.

Since the death of the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II, she has been the longest-reigning sitting monarch in Europe and the world's only reigning queen.

Born days after the Nazi invasion of Denmark in 1940, she ascended to the monarchy in 1972. During her childhood, the 1953 Act of Succession gave women the ability to inherit the throne, and she became the first female monarch of Denmark in over 500 years.

Since Denmark has no formal coronation ceremonies, Crown Prince Frederik is set to be proclaimed King immediately after Margrethe formally abdicates.

The queen explained that her February back operation had led her to consider moving on. "The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future," she said.

During her reign, she frequently traveled around her country without formal accompaniment and visited deployed Danish soldiers in the War in Afghanistan at 70 years old. Margrethe is also known for her interest in archaeology and the arts. Under a pseudonym, she was the illustrator of a 1977 Danish-language version of The Lord of the Rings. Source: https://en.wikinews.org, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

Read More........ → January 10, 2024

European Council agrees stance on electricity market reform : Nuclear Policies

The Europa Building in Brussels (Image: European Council)

Following months of negotiations, the European Council has reached an agreement on a proposal to amend the EU's electricity market design, agreeing to include existing nuclear plants in the reform. The agreement could result in France dropping a scheme forcing state-controlled utility EDF to sell a portion of its nuclear energy production to competitors below market-level prices.

The European Council said the reform aims to "make electricity prices less dependent on volatile fossil fuel prices, shield consumers from price spikes, accelerate the deployment of renewable energies and improve consumer protection". The proposal is part of a wider reform of the EU's electricity market design which also includes a regulation focused on improving the EU's protection against market manipulation through better monitoring and transparency.

"The reform aims to steady long-term electricity markets by boosting the market for power purchase agreements (PPAs) generalising two-way contracts for difference (CfDs) and improving the liquidity of the forward market," the European Council said. "The Council agreed that member states would promote uptake of power purchase agreements by removing unjustified barriers and disproportionate or discriminatory procedures or charges. Measures may include among other things, state-backed guarantee schemes at market prices, private guarantees, or facilities pooling demand for PPAs."

The European Council - which is made up of representatives of the governments of EU member states - agreed that two-way CfDs would be the mandatory model used when public funding is involved in long-term contracts, with some exceptions. They would apply to investments in new power-generating facilities based on wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower without reservoir and nuclear energy.

The Council also agreed to remove the temporary nature of capacity mechanisms, support measures that member states can introduce to remunerate power plants in order to guarantee medium and long-term security of electricity supply.

The European Commission adopted the proposals on the reform of the EU's electricity market design on 14 March. However, a dispute between France and Germany over the role of nuclear power in European climate action has dominated negotiations for months.

Under the terms of the agreement, France will now be able to finance the extension of the operation of its existing fleet of reactors with two-way CFDs, in line with the Commission's initial proposal.

Currently, under the so-called Regulated Access to Incumbent Nuclear Electricity (Accès Régulé à l’Electricité Nucléaire Historique, ARENH) mechanism set up to foster competition, rival energy suppliers can buy electricity produced by EDF's nuclear power plants located in France that were commissioned before 8 December 2010. Under such contracts, between July 2011 and December 2025, suppliers can buy up to 100 TWh - or about 25% of EDF's annual nuclear output - at a fixed price of EUR42 (USD47) per MWh. EDF operates 57 reactors in France, with a total capacity of 62.3 GWe, which together provide about 75% of the country's electricity.

Under the agreement reached by the European Council, the ARENH mechanism - which has attributed to lost earnings for EDF - could be replaced by CfDs when it expires at the end of 2025.

The Council's agreement will serve now as a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on the final shape of the legislation. The outcome of the negotiations will have to be formally adopted by the Council and the Parliament.Researched and written by World Nuclear News. European Council agrees stance on electricity market reform : Nuclear Policies - World Nuclear News:

Read More........ → October 20, 2023

India hands over G20 presidency to Brazil

President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit held in New Delhi Sept. 9 and 10. Brazil took over the presidency from India. PHOTO: X @India’s Ministry of External Affairs

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, formally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil at the closing ceremony of the annual summit of the grouping, that was held in New Delhi this weekend. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by handing over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. India has had the presidency of the G20 since Dec. 1, when it took over from Indonesia, and will continue to hold the position until Nov. 30. During the two-day summit, the bloc adopted a consensus declaration that made commitments on several issues, including that of food and energy security, climate change and global debt vulnerabilities. Modi, on Sunday, also proposed a “virtual summit” of the grouping at the end of November to assess the status of the suggestions and proposals put forth by members and determine “how their progress can be accelerated”.“In that session, we can review the topics decided during this summit,” Modi said, adding that details would be shared with members. Source: https://www.newsindiatimes.com/

Read More........ → September 14, 2023

At G-20, Biden announces ambitious corridor connecting India, Europe

President Biden with PM Modi at Raj Ghat Sept. 10, 2023. PHOTO: X @narendramodi

NEW DELHI – President Biden and several other world leaders announced plans here Saturday afternoon for a new rail and shipping corridor that would connect India and Europe through the Middle East, an ambitious proposal aimed at further connecting a volatile region and countering China’s years-long backing of massive infrastructure projects around the world.

The announcement solidified a preliminary agreement among a range of participants – including the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union – and came as leaders of the world’s largest economies tried to work through divisions on a range of thorny issues.

By midafternoon, the leaders here had reached consensus on a 37-page joint declaration on 83 points, several of which referred to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The debate over the war led some to predict that such a statement would prove elusive, particularly given that Russia is a member of the G-20. But they arrived at language that stated that “all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition,” and also stated that “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible.” The language was not as pointed as it was during last year’s conference and did not explicitly name Russia as the aggressor in the war.

The leaders did highlight the “suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine” on a range of issues, including global food supply and energy security. But in the dry language of diplomacy, the statement added, “There were different views and assessments of the situation.”

In a Facebook post, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said the G-20 has “nothing to be proud of” on the language over Russian aggression in Ukraine, and he offered his own edits of how the portions regarding Ukraine should have been written.

The declaration in another section also formalized that the United States would host the G-20 in 2026, overcoming some late opposition from China.

“This is a significant milestone for India’s chairmanship and vote of confidence that the G-20 can come together to address a pressing range of issues and also to deal with hard issues that actually very much [divided] some members from others – including, obviously, Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said shortly after the deal was reached.

“I have got good news. From our team’s hard work, we have reached an agreement on the G-20 declaration,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the summit’s host, said in Hindi, prompting a long round of applause from the G-20 leaders.

Biden came to the conference determined to try to showcase that the G-20 can maintain its relevance even after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent deputies instead of attending themselves, amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.

Asked whether Xi’s absence affected the summit, Biden said, “It would be nice to have him here but, no, the summit is going well.”

Shortly after the declaration was announced, Biden joined other leaders to announce the rail corridor.

“This is a big deal,” he said. “This is a real big deal.”

The cost of the project was unclear, but senior Biden administration officials view it as a way to link key areas of the world, India to Europe, opening up new trading partnerships and a flow of energy and digital information. Also significant is having Israel working with a historical adversary such as Saudi Arabia; Biden is separately hoping to broker a deal to normalize relations between the two countries.

Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer noted the significance of reaching an agreement in an area that “has, obviously often been a net exporter of turbulence and insecurity.”

“Linking these two regions, we think, is a huge opportunity, building on our broader efforts over the last couple of years to turn the temperature down across the region,” Finer said.

Officials in the countries involved are expected within 60 days to come up with a timeline for the projects – linking energy grids, laying undersea and overland cables, and providing more digital connections. Some of the tasks involve installing hydrogen pipelines from Israel to Europe, which administration officials hope will advance clean energy goals.

The summit took place against the backdrop of a city that largely has been shut down amid tight security, with police officers standing at nearly every intersection and shops and restaurants closed.

Most of the conference meetings were closed to the news media, but Biden entered the opening session planning to outline his opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

American officials unsuccessfully lobbied to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky address the conference, something he did in person during a Group of Seven gathering in Hiroshima, Japan, and which he did virtually during last year’s G-20 in Bali.

“Our view is that it is fundamentally a good thing when President Zelensky is able to make his case and Ukraine’s case for, you know, how damaging this conflict has been to his people and to his country,” Finer said. “He is the most effective messenger for that. And it’s certainly in a format in which, you know, Russian representatives will be able to give their views about the conflict that is appropriate for Ukraine to be able to offer its perspective.”

Biden arrived at the summit on Saturday morning, walking down a long corridor to greet Modi. “How are you?” he asked as he approached, appearing to jog up a slight incline before the two leaders shook and held hands while examining a G-20 logo that had the motto, “One Earth. One Family. One Future.”

They later met in a large room with three rows of desks in an oval, a chandelier hanging above them and small flags denoting where each country’s leader was to sit.

During the first session, Biden was between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Before Biden sat down, several others greeted him, among them leaders from Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and Nigeria.

“This period in the 21st century is a time to give the entire world a new direction. It is a time when age-old problems are demanding new solutions from us,” Modi said in an address to the global leaders as he sat behind a nameplate reading not India but Bharat – the Hindi name for the country – signaling a branding shift that has been the source of controversy for many in the nation.

The negotiations over a joint communiqué had been difficult, especially around language regarding the Ukraine war.

While it did note the harm of the war and the importance of territorial sovereignty, it did not name Russia as the perpetrator and was less direct in some of the language than was agreed to last year during the G-20 in Bali. At that meeting, while noting there were some disagreements, it referred to a U.N. resolution that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.”

When asked about the change in text over the course of a year, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that some conditions have changed in the war.

“Bali was Bali and New Delhi was New Delhi,” he said. “Bali was a year ago and the situation was different. Many things have happened since then.”

He went on to add, “One should not have a theological view of this. New Delhi declaration is responding to the situation of today just as the Bali declaration did to the situation a year ago.”

The language also was the result of a lengthy negotiation. India’s chief G-20 coordinator, Amitabh Kant, said that Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia were helpful in reaching consensus.

“It was a tough, ruthless negotiation that went on for several days nonstop,” he said.

Indian officials expressed frustration that the war has overshadowed other issues, such as successfully negotiating the African Union’s acceptance into the G-20. For the first time, a representative of the African Union joined the gathering, with the chairman of the 55-member bloc, Comoros President Azali Assoumani, being introduced by Modi.“For all our moral idealism in foreign policy, we accept things as they are and find a way around it,” said India expert Aparna Pande of the Hudson Institute. “At the end of the day, you work with what you got.”At G-20, Biden announces ambitious corridor connecting India, Europe

Read More........ → September 11, 2023

​The UK's economic prospects continue to dwindle

In early February, about half a million people went on strike in the U.K. [Photo/cfp.cn]

"The United Kingdom lost more working days to strikes in 2022 than in any year since 1989, as employees walked out in large numbers over pay amid soaring living costs," reads an article on CNN. Last year was, to put it mildly, a miserable experience for the U.K. Despite having mostly recovered from COVID-19, the country's economy remains in a state of stagnation. Faced with shrinking incomes and crippling levels of inflation, its economic performance is worse than any country in the G7 and the only one expected to enter recession.

The grim economic prospects throughout the country have led to a tidal wave of economic discontent that has manifested in strikes across the board, drawing upon memories of the industrial unrest and upheavals faced in the 1970s and 1980s. In public opinion polls, the current government is deeply unpopular and trails the opposition Labour Party by over 20 points. Many decisions the government has made, including the decision to follow the U.S. blindly in escalating tensions with China, deliberately intensifying the war in Ukraine, and Brexit, among things, are responsible for the economic fallout. The product is a "broken Britain."

Since the late 1970s, the U.K.'s Conservative Party has premised its economic policy on Neoliberalism, which has religiously adhered to the fundamentals of free-market economics and privatization, even at the staggering expense of the British themselves. While this began with the reign of Margaret Thatcher, who destroyed Britain's industrial base and created large-scale regional inequalities, it was ultimately continued with the government of David Cameron, who pursued the largest program of austerity the country had seen in a century, gutting the public sector and only deepening the country's growing inequalities.

The combined long-term impact of these economic policies has been to effectively sacrifice the British working class, shrinking incomes, undermining consumption, and creating an economic model which has made British-led innovation and competitiveness untenable, leading to long-term economic stagnation from as far back as 2008. Politically, the end result of this trajectory has been to create social-economic conflict in the U.K. in the form of populist right-wing nationalism, promoted by the popular right-wing press, which ultimately resulted in Brexit.

The Conservative government has responded to these shifts by injecting nationalism into its foreign policy in order to make up for its domestic shortcomings. While the government of David Cameron was liberal in nature and pro-EU, he subsequently lost the internal partisan struggle over Brexit, as well as the referendum, leading to a new status quo led by Boris Johnson, which has sacrificed reason and economic logic for the sake of populism.

The result of this domestic-foreign policy dynamic, which seeks to mask domestic structural economic failures with imperial adventurism abroad, has become self-reinforcing and reflected in growing damage to Britain's economy. British foreign policy, with respect to Russia, China, and the European Union, as well as elsewhere, is being driven by ideology, not reason, making the primary drivers of the country's GDP stagnation and surging inflation. Thus, in 2022, the United Kingdom began to face industrial unrest as workers and unions felt their incomes were no longer sufficient to match rising prices. According to the Office for National Statistics, "843,000 working days were lost in December 2022 alone – the highest monthly number since November 2011," with "workers in health care, communications, and transportation among those who walked out."

The economic system that the U.K. adopted in the 1970s and 1980s no longer delivers for ordinary people. Instead, it is dividing the country, and such divisions have only been intensified by more aggressive policies by successive governments and have created economic stagnation. With Britain being a service-based economy, it is failing to grow because people's incomes are shrinking, and, worse still, the foreign policy environment that the British government is creating goes fundamentally against its own national interest. If the U.K. is to recover, a dramatic change is needed, and that should start with binning the "post-Boris Johnson" consensus of nationalism, populism, and geopolitical adventurism, all of which have dealt significant damage to the country's place in the world.

Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm, Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........ → March 01, 2023

NATO must be ready for long standoff with Russia - Stoltenberg

Photo: U.S. Secretary of Defense

BRUSSELS - NATO must be prepared for a long standoff with Russia beyond the immediate crisis triggered by President Vladimir Putin's year-old invasion of Ukraine, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told AFP.

Moscow's war on its pro-Western neighbor has plunged Europe into its most dangerous crisis since World War II and pushed NATO into the biggest overhaul of its defenses since the Soviet Union collapsed.

"President Putin wants a different Europe, wants a Europe where he can control neighbors, where he can decide what countries can do," Stoltenberg, 63, said in an interview a week ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

"We need to be prepared for the long haul, this may last for many, many, many, many years."

The Norwegian head of the US-led alliance said he was wary of predicting how long the renewed face-off between Russia and the West would continue, because change can come suddenly.

"We saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, or we saw 9/11," he said.

NATO would, he said, "always look into where there are opportunities to again come into the situation where there is room for a better relationship, but with the current behavior of the Russian regime, the regime in Moscow, there's no way."

NATO members have not sent their own forces to Ukraine, and some Western officials fear that a direct military conflict could escalate into a nuclear war between the West and Russia.

But since the Russian tanks rolled in, tens of thousands more NATO troops have been deployed to the alliance's eastern flank and a string of European allies have ramped up defense spending.NATO members, spearheaded by the United States, have also sent weaponry worth tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine to help it fight back against Russia. Source: https://www.baltictimes.com/

Read More........ → February 27, 2023

Biden's meeting with Bucharest Nine is signal of political attention – Lithuanian PM

Photo: Office of the President of the United States

VILNIUS - US President Joe Biden's meeting with representatives of the Bucharest Nine, also attended by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, is an important signal of political and practical attention to NATO's eastern flank, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte says.

"The meeting with the leaders of NATO's eastern flank countries is a very important signal. It has been mentioned many times over the years that the Article 5 guarantees are ironclad, they are very solid, but they have to be reinforced with a political dimension, with such political attention, and with a practical dimension, with the physical reinforcement of the eastern flank," Simonyte told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Thursday. "This invasion (…) has given NATO second wind."

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues, many of the Bucharest Nine countries are worried that if Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine, his next target could be any of these countries.

The Bucharest Nine includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The US president concluded his four-day visit to NATO's eastern flank allies Ukraine and Poland on Wednesday. On Monday, several days before the 1st anniversary of Russia's invasion of pro-Western Ukraine, Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and vowed a new arms package and strong American support.

"I think it's extremely symbolic that President Biden visited Kyiv at this particular time because there was a very clear message here," the Lithuanian prime minister noted.

Putin delivered his annual speech on Tuesday and accused Western countries of causing and supporting the war in Ukraine. He also rejected Moscow's any responsibility."Clearly, the real event was President Biden in Kyiv, not Putin's speech," Simonyte said. Source: https://media.baltictimes.com/

Read More........ → February 24, 2023

EU proposes 10th sanctions package against Russia

EU flags are seen outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The European Commission proposed a tenth package of sanctions against Russia and Iranian drone suppliers, and banning Moscow from acquiring advanced technology, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

The proposed export bans worth over 11 billion euros (11.75 billion U.S. dollars) will target technological and industrial goods critical for the Russian economy that the country cannot get through backfilling by third countries, she said.

The ban covers electronics, specialized vehicles, machine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, as well as goods for the construction sector that can be directed to Russia's military, such as antennas or cranes.

A ban on the export of dual-use and advanced tech goods to Russia is also part of the new sanctions package. The Commission proposes controls on 47 new electronic components that could be used in Russian weapons systems, as well as on specific rare earth materials and thermal cameras.

Adding these to the existing list of banned products should enable the European Union (EU) to block exports towards Russia of all tech products found on the battlefield. In order to prevent third countries from supplying such goods to Russia, the package targets Iran for the first time.

Next week, a Sanctions Coordinators Forum will bring together the EU member states and international partners, she said, in order to make sure that these sanctions are enforced in a coordinated way.The Commission's proposal requires unanimous approval by all EU member states. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollar) Source: China.org.cn

Read More........ → February 16, 2023

G7 to implement Russian oil price cap `urgently`

G7 industrialized powers vowed Friday to "urgently" move towards implementing a price cap on Russian oil imports in a bid to cut a major source of funding for Moscow's war in Ukraine. The G7 said it was working towards a "broad coalition" of support for the measure but officials in France urged caution, saying a "final" decision could only be taken once all 27 members of the European Union had given their assent. Households on the continent have borne the brunt of rising energy prices, with governments under pressure to alleviate the pain of the resulting high inflation. "Russia is benefitting economically from the uncertainty on energy markets caused by the war and is making big profits from the export of oil and we want to counter that decisively," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in a press conference after the move was announced. The aim of the price cap on oil exports was to "stop an important source of financing for the war of aggression and contain the rise in global energy prices", he added. Ahead of Friday's decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sounded a clear warning. The adoption of a price cap "will lead to a significant destabilisation of the oil markets," he said. Moscow would "simply not supply oil and petroleum products to companies or states that impose restrictions," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had warned on Thursday, according to Russian news agencies. "Interference in the market mechanisms of such an important industry ... will only destabilise the oil industry, the oil market. And for this, European and American consumers will be the first to pay," he said. 'Powerful tool' At a summit in June, the G7 leaders agreed to work towards implementing the ceiling on crude sales. In their statement, finance ministers from the G7 said they would "urgently work on the finalisation and implementation" of the long-considered measure, without specifying the cap level. The price cap was "one of the most powerful tools we have to fight inflation and protect workers and businesses in the United States", US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement Friday. However, the French finance ministry said technical work on the price cap was still "in progress". "It is clear that no final decision can be taken until we have consulted and obtained unanimous support from all 27 member states of the European Union," it said. "We support all measures that reduce the income that Russia derives from the sale of oil," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire added. EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the bloc aims to find a deal by December 5 for crude oil and February 5 for petroleum products. 'Broad coalition' The G7 also voiced ambition to extend the measure beyond the bloc, saying it was seeking to form a "broad coalition" of support for the oil price cap to "maximise" the effectiveness of the measure. The ministers urged "all countries that still seek to import Russian oil and petroleum products to commit to doing so only at prices at or below the price cap". The push to get as many countries as possible to go along with the cap is expected to be a key topic for discussion by leaders at the G20 summit in Bali on November 15 and 16. The initial cap would be set "at a level based on a range of technical inputs" the G7 ministers said, adding that its effectiveness would be "closely monitored". Analysts warned, however, that the cap may yet fuel another rise in prices. The cap would introduce new risks for the oil market by "potentially disrupting Russian energy supplies", Capital Economics analyst Liam Perch said in June. "This could push global energy prices up further." "The cap may also be effective at reducing the Russian government’s tax revenues," he said, speculating that a cap just below $80 (80 euros) per barrel could "push Russia's budget into a deficit".DailyBangladesh/SA, Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........ → September 05, 2022

UK to host G7 summit in June

The United Kingdom will host the first in-person Group of Seven (G7) summit in almost two years in June this year, according to a statement released late Saturday by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use Britain’s G7 Presidency to help the world build back better from coronavirus and create a greener, more prosperous future, said the statement.

The summit will be held in Carbis Bay, Cornwall in southwestern Britain from June 11-13, the statement added. Australia, India, and South Korea are invited as guest countries.

The leaders will address shared challenges, from beating coronavirus and tackling climate change, to ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change, and scientific discovery, said the statement.

The G7 gathers Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is an invitee to the G7.Britain will also host a number of meetings throughout the year between government ministers from the G7, both virtually and in different locations across Britain. These ministerial meetings will cover economic, environmental, health, trade, technology, development, and foreign policy issues, according to the statement. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........ → January 18, 2021

Coronavirus’ new strain detected in 8 European countries

A new strain of coronavirus called VOC-202012/01 has been identified in eight European countries, said Hans Kluge, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, in a statement.

In a post on Twitter on Friday, Kluge wrote, “WHO has identified the new VOC of the Covid-19 in 8 countries in the European region.”

It spreads faster than Covid-19 and infects relatively the youths, he said. “Research is ongoing to determine its effects and caution is needed at this time.”

He called for strengthening the existing security measures, including maintaining social distance, wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

On 14 December, British Health Minister Matt Hancock said UK scientists had identified a new type of coronavirus strain, which could be responsible for a high prevalence in south-east England.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told an emergency news conference on 19 December that the new COVID stain could be “80 percent” more contagious. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com

Read More........ → December 31, 2020

Coronavirus’ new strain detected in 8 European countries

A new strain of coronavirus called VOC-202012/01 has been identified in eight European countries, said Hans Kluge, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, in a statement.

In a post on Twitter on Friday, Kluge wrote, “WHO has identified the new VOC of the Covid-19 in 8 countries in the European region.”

It spreads faster than Covid-19 and infects relatively the youths, he said. “Research is ongoing to determine its effects and caution is needed at this time.”

He called for strengthening the existing security measures, including maintaining social distance, wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

On 14 December, British Health Minister Matt Hancock said UK scientists had identified a new type of coronavirus strain, which could be responsible for a high prevalence in south-east England.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told an emergency news conference on 19 December that the new COVID stain could be “80 percent” more contagious.  https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........ → December 26, 2020

Slovakia PM Matovic contracts Covid-19

Slovakia Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on Friday that he had tested positive for Covid-19, a week after he attended an EU summit in Brussels.

The summit is believed to be where Franch President Emmanuel Macron contracted the virus, resulting in the self-isolation of European leaders and top French officials, reports Al Jazeera. 

“Today, I am one of you,” Igor Matovic wrote on his Facebook page, attaching a screenshot of his test results.

The 47-year-old premier added that he was spending the Christmas holidays helping out at a hospital. “Now my plans likely to be a little different,” he said.

Slovakia’s press department told AFP that Matovic had tested positive on Thursday and had since canceled all his events.

Local media reported that the government had called on all ministers and state secretaries to get tested in response.

Deputy Prime Minister Veronika Remisova and Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad later announced that they were also infected.

Macron and Matovic are the latest heads of state and government around the world to contract the coronavirus, following the likes of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump.Since the pandemic erupted, Slovakia has registered more than 146,000 confirmed infections, including nearly 4,000 new cases. More than 1,400 people have died from the virus in the country of 5.4 million people, including 62 people on Thursday. Source: c

Read More........ → December 20, 2020

UK begins roll-out of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine as 1st country

The COVID vaccination program in the United Kingdom, the country that approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for the first time on Wednesday, is starting today. The health workers, the elderly and care home workers will receive the vaccine initially. The National Health Service (NHS) will be responsible for vaccinating these high-risk individuals, according to the UK Department of Health.

Meanwhile, Britain is building a refrigerator at a temperature of -70°C to preserve Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. 

The Serum Institute has sought approval of the Oxford vaccine in India. On the other hand, the first consignment of China’s Sinovac COVID vaccine has arrived in Indonesia. 

UK Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock described the start of the COVID vaccination campaign as a “historic moment”. He also urged everyone to play their role in tackling coronavirus. 

According to a BBC report, health workers, people over the age of 80 and care home workers who initially fought against the COvid-19 will be vaccinated first. 50 hospitals have been identified as COVID vaccination sites in the UK.

The vaccination will also begin in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from Tuesday. It has been informed that vaccinations will also be given in these places from the hospital.

A special container of the vaccine, invented by US company Pfizer and German BioNTech, has been shipped to the UK from Belgium. Later, they were kept in a safe place. From there, they were sent to the hospitals where the vaccines will be applied.

Professor Stephen Paus, the NHS’s national medical director, said the first dose of the COVID vaccine arrived at hospitals on Monday, despite many complications. “Vaccination will begin on Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, 94, will also receive the vaccine in a few weeks,” he added.Earlier on 2 December, the United Kingdom was the first country in the world to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Bahrain later gave emergency approval to the vaccine. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com

Read More........ → December 08, 2020

EU's fundamental values under threat; EU, India need to coordinate actions in changing geopolitical landscape, says EICC

The Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC), the Brussels-based body that promotes bilateral trade between the European Union and India, in a letter to Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva has said that Portugal, which will take over the presidency for the European Council, has a "historic opportunity to create a framework and chart out future roadmap to bring EU and India closer beyond ‘strategic partners.’”

In a letter, written by Sunil Prasad, secretary-general EICC, which promotes trade and economic relations between the EU and India, said as India is rapidly emerging as a strategic player at the global level, it is in the interest of EU and India to enhance their mutual collaboration.

“EU’s relations with India is neither complex nor consequential but managing it requires careful calibration with long term vision. The EU, therefore, cannot afford to remain an ‘exclusive club’ and still exert its power and influence in a changing world," he said as Portugal is set to take at the Presidency for the European Council, a collegiate body that defines the overall political directions and priorities of the EU, for the fourth time since it joined the EU.

“This is where EU and India have an opportunity to embrace each other and jointly shape the new world order. As in 2000, your upcoming Presidency, too, has an historic opportunity to create a framework and chart out a future roadmap to bring EU and India closer beyond ‘strategic partners,’ Prasad said in the letter.

He also stressed that “the EU needs to reinvent itself and embrace the challenges of change as it confronts the evolving of new trans-Atlantic strategic architecture.” 

Talking about the challenges posed by COVID-19 that has ravaged the world, he said, the post-pandemic world is going to be different.

"Though there are positive signs of the availability of COVID vaccine within a matter of weeks, the shadow of the pandemic and the economic and social distress caused by it will remain with us for a long time to come.

“We believe that in any post-pandemic world order that emerges, India, which is home to one-sixth of humanity, ought to occupy an important place. 

He said that in today's world, the EU and India face multiple new global challenges and have a considerable and shared stake in the future security and the economic and diplomatic configuration in the international space.

“As India has emerged as a global power and a key player in the geo-strategic and security matrix of Asia and the Indo-Pacific, the current geopolitical dynamics of the international system requires the EU and India to coordinate their actions together.

“A tectonic shift in the fabric of the geopolitical landscape is fast taking place and we hope that EU and India remain on the same page in the geo-strategic space-time continuum.”

He said the first-ever EU-India summit was held in Lisbon on June 28, 2000, during Portugal’s presidency. "..the summit was a landmark in EU-India ties as it served as the genesis of the strategic partnership which EU and India have built, allowing the two largest democracies to collectively change the geopolitical and economic dynamics of the new global order.”

He also expressed concern that the “EU’s fundamental values are under threat by internal and external forces.” 

“The EU’s strategic dialogue with Pakistan in November, in the midst of violent demonstrations against France in several cities of Pakistan, is a living example of how such flawed actions are damaging the EU’s basic values and unity.

“The risk for EU in the next decade is not of disintegration, not even the impact of Brexit, not of war or hunger but the gradual and steady decline of its global influence due to misguided and directionless policies. “

The EU and India, he said, have been discussing a free trade agreement (FTA) since 2007, but no significant progress has been visible.

Speaking about China and its growing influence in EU, Prasad, said that “China which lies at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic must be held accountable for its lack of transparency and cooperation in sharing information on the realities of the outbreak, including its transmission and spread.

“EU must deal firmly with China even though its economy remains heavily dependent on China for its supply-chain.”

He added that during the last three decades, the EU has become over-dependent on China which has allowed military-led Chinese business, spread its footprints in every sector of the European economy.

He also proposed to jointly mount “some path-breaking business and civil society events” aimed at building the momentum in both the European and Indian societies. EU's fundamental values

Read More........ → December 07, 2020

Most lungs recover well after COVID-19, says study

NOV 26, 2020 LONDON: Lung tissue of patients who suffer severely from COVID-19 shows good recovery in most cases, according to a study. The researchers at the Radbound University in the Netherlands found that the group which was referred by a GP did not recover as well as patients who were admitted to the hospital''s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, included 124 patients who had recovered from acute COVID-19 infections. The patients were examined by CT scan and a lung functional test. After three months, the researchers took stock, which revealed that the patients'' lung tissue is recovering well. Residual damage in the lung tissue was generally limited, and was most often seen in patients who were treated in the ICU, they said. According to the study, the most common complaints after three months are fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pains. "The patterns we see in these patients show similarities with recovery after acute pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in which fluid accumulates in the lungs," pulmonologist Bram van den Borst said. "Recovery from these conditions also generally takes a long time. It is encouraging to see that lungs after COVID-19 infections exhibit this level of recovery," van den Borst said in a statement. In the study, the patients were divided into three categories: a group who were admitted to the ICU, patients who were admitted to a nursing ward in the hospital, and those who could stay home but experienced persisting symptoms that eventually warranted a referral from their GP. The study assessed how patients fared after three months, and revealed that the patients who were referred to the aftercare clinic by their GP showed the worst recovery in the following period, the researchers said. This latter group of patients was referred because of their persisting symptoms, they said. "However, it does seem that there is a clear subgroup of patients who initially experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms and later kept experiencing persistent long-term complaints and limitations," van den Borst explained. "What is striking is that we barely found any anomalies in the lungs of these patients. Considering the variety and seriousness of the complaints and the plausible size of this subgroup, there is an urgent need for further research into explanations and treatment options," he said Copyright © Jammu Links News Source: Jammu Links News

Read More........ → November 26, 2020