Sanctions on North Korean dictator
US applies more sanctions on North Korea after missile tests
Published on 03/12/2022
Sanctions on North Korean dictator
Published on 03/12/2022
SEOUL — The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions Friday after North Korea tested parts of its largest intercontinental ballistic missile in two recent launches, an indication it will likely fire that weapon soon to put a spy satellite into orbit. in what would be his biggest tease in years.
On the other hand, the South Korean Defense Ministry indicated that it detected signs that North Korea could be restoring some of the tunnels of its nuclear test range that were detonated in May 2018, a few weeks before the first summit between leader Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump. The ministry did not say whether it believes the North Korean government would be restoring the site to resume testing of nuclear explosives.
North Korea’s neighbors detected two ballistic launches last week. Pyongyang later said it was testing cameras and other systems to be installed on a spy satellite, but did not reveal which missiles or rockets it used.
After analyzing the launches, the armies of Washington and Seoul concluded that it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in development that was presented at a military parade in October 2020.
“The purpose of these tests, which did not demonstrate the range of the ICBM, was possibly to evaluate this new system before conducting a full-range test in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, in a statement Thursday.
South Korea made a similar assessment, saying Pyongyang must immediately stop any acts that raise regional tensions and security concerns.
Trends
Speaking at the close of a two-day EU summit outside Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said all options are on the table for a fourth package of coercive measures against Russia if President Vladimir Putin intensifies his war actions.
If Putin "intensifies the bombing, besieges Kiev and intensifies the scenes of war, we know that we will have to re-implement massive sanctions," Macron declared.
Since the war began last month, the EU has cracked down on Putin, Russia's financial system and its oligarchs. A few days ago, the bloc agreed to impose further sanctions on 160 individuals and added new restrictions on the export of maritime navigation and radio communication technology.
The EU also decided to exclude three Belarusian banks from SWIFT, the predominant system for global financial transactions. In total, the bloc's restrictive measures now apply to 862 people and 53 entities.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, declared that the arsenal of sanctions has already begun to wreak havoc on the Russian economy.
Since the end of February, infections have increased drastically in the west of the territory, in particular in the Vendée department.
At the beginning of the month, the department registered 58 infections, but just a few days later, the last balance recorded 187.
"Currently, we have eliminated about 1.2 million animals and we estimate that we still have to slaughter 3 million" in the region, the Ministry of Agriculture told the press on Friday.
"We will have phenomenal economic losses that are fully or partially borne by the State. Despite everything, there will be collateral damage costs, a lack of [bird] production in the coming weeks," predicts Christophe Labour, president of the poultry section of the FNSEA agricultural union for the Pays de la Loire region.
The scope of this crisis already exceeds that of last year, which took place especially in the southwest, an area where foie gras is produced.
In that period, nearly 500 outbreaks of bird flu were identified on farms and 3.5 million animals, mainly ducks, were culled.
This season, since the first case was detected at the end of November, 649 outbreaks have been registered on farms, according to the Ministry.
And more than four million poultry have already been culled, most of them in the Southwest.
In this way, there are fewer birds on the farms, which makes it difficult for the virus to multiply.
In the northwestern regions of the country, the "wish" of professionals is "to be able to completely clean the area" by the end of April, according to the office of the Minister of Agriculture.
The sector has many farms, some of which are considered "strategic" because they house animals used for breeding.
There are also hatcheries that give birth to future chickens, laying hens and ducks, "really key to the resumption of activity in a few weeks when we have cleaned the area," says the Ministry.
One farm has already been contaminated, "all the others are protected and the goal is to create a buffer zone around the farms to preserve our productive capacities for the future," he continues.
In the Southwest, hit by bird flu for the fourth time since 2015, growers are counting on these hatcheries to refill farms emptied by the virus.
Repeated bird flu epidemics generate considerable costs both for professionals (suspension of production, closure of export markets) and for the State (compensation for slaughtered animals and economic losses).
It will be necessary to "learn lessons" from the episode, anticipates the Ministry, "to build a renewed roadmap" with professionals to "prevent this from happening again in the future."
After last year's crisis, it was decided to reduce duck production in some areas and impose a confinement of the birds when the risk is "high", such as in early November.
LOS ANGELES.- Warner Bros. studios' somber remake of "Batman" topped the box office in the United States and Canada, becoming the first film of the year to exceed $100 million in box office receipts. first weekend, according to industry analysts.
The film had an estimated production cost of 200 million.
Sony's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was the only pandemic movie to top $100 million at the box office in its opening weekend, racking up $260 million in its December release month. , according to analysts.
The current version of "Batman" has Batman on the trail of a serial killer (Paul Dano) as he battles crime, corruption and his own demons. The cast includes Zoe Kravitz, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.
Sony's adventure film "Uncharted: Off the Map," starring Tom Holland in the style of treasure hunter Indiana Jones, dropped to second place with $11 million, while it has grossed more than $100 million since its release.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer's comedy "Dog" was third with $6 million. Channing Tatum plays a veteran US Army Ranger who agrees to take Lulu, a canine injured during his service in Afghanistan, to his handler's funeral.
In fourth place is "Spider-Man: No Way Home" with 4.4 million in sales in its twelfth week. His international earnings reach 1,000 million dollars.
And in fifth place, losing one place from last week, was the 20th Century production "Death on the Nile" with 2.7 million. Kenneth Branagh directs and plays the peculiar Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the recreation of Agatha Christie's 1937 novel.
Completing the top 10:
"Sing 2" ($1.5 million)
"Jackass Forever" (1.4 million)
"Cyrano" (683,000)
"Scream" (570,000)
"Marry Me" (530,000)
Sports
Sport provides moments that last a lifetime in the hearts of fans. Women, on their own merit and with great courage, have taken it upon themselves to break the chains and prejudices to write their own successes in the annals of history.
There are battles that seem impossible to overcome, but there are always warrior souls that prevail, above all, like Elizabeth Patiño. A soccer player with an unparalleled passion to improve herself, the host of ESPN and Unanimo Deportes is an example for future generations to follow.
The sports journalist can boast of being the third woman in the history of Mexican soccer to be presented as the coach of a professional men's team by taking the reins of Guerreros de la Plata, but of course, everything has a price and a sacrifice, and that is , accompanied by her 15 years of experience in the media, the road has not been easy.
After 99 days of negotiations between the MLB and the players' union, they reached an agreement to save baseball and the 2022 season.
As reported by The Athletic portal. The commissioner's office and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached an agreement Thursday on the 99th day of the lockout to end the sport's first work stoppage in 26 years. Free agency and all other business in the sport, including trades, can resume immediately.
Players voted to accept Major League Baseball's latest offer for a new labor deal, paving the way to end a 99-day lockout and salvage a 162-game regular season.
The union's executive board approved the deal in a 26-12 vote, pending ratification by all players.
The deal will allow training camps to open this week in Florida and Arizona, more than three weeks later than scheduled on February 16. Fans can start making plans to be at Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and Camden Yards next month. Opening day is planned for April 7, a little over a week after the original date of March 31.
The deal will also trigger a quick round of free agency. Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman and Kris Bryant are among the 139 major leaguers who still don't have a team, including some that could benefit from adopting a universal designated hitter.
Under a deal reached on day 99 of a season-delayed lockout, the sides agreed to a July 25 deadline for an international draft to begin in 2024.
Economy
NEW YORK — Share prices on the New York Stock Exchange shed early gains and generally closed lower on Friday, concluding a turbulent week as uncertainty over the war in Ukraine and rising inflation continue. shaking the markets.
The S&P 500 fell 1.3% after rising 0.7% in the first part of the session. The benchmark index posted its fourth week of losses in the last five, despite rising midweek and having its best day since the summer of 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2%. Both also ended the week with losses.
These are the latest swings in global markets, rocked by dramatic hour-to-hour pullbacks in previous weeks, as investors struggled to figure out how far the Russian invasion of Ukraine will push up prices for oil, wheat and other raw materials produced in the region.
Earlier on Friday, before Wall Street opened for business, the pendulum was swinging towards optimism. European stocks and US stock futures rose sharply on comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that some analysts found surprisingly upbeat. Putin cited "certain positive developments" in the negotiations with Ukraine, although he did not offer any details.
The S&P 500 index opened 0.7% higher but quickly turned negative after an assessment of US consumer sentiment came in lower than economists had expected. Expectations are growing in households that inflation will remain high for the foreseeable future, causing unease. The S&P index ended down 55.21 points to 4,204.31.
The Dow fell 229.88 points to 32,944.19, while the Nasdaq fell 286.15 points to 12,843.81, after losing an initial gain of 0.8%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 32 points, or 1.6%, to end at 1,979.67.
US crude rose 3.1% to settle at $109.33, after briefly hitting $130 days earlier. Prices have fluctuated, influenced by concerns that supplies will be interrupted, hopes that peace will be achieved and the possibility that countries other than Russia will increase their production. Brent crude rose 3.1% to settle at $112.67 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose back to about 2%, where it was in February, before fears over the war in Ukraine pushed it back below 1.70%.
The Brazilian parastatal Petrobras increased on Friday the prices of the fuels it sells to its distributors by up to 25%, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, it said. Official data showed that inflation accelerated in February.
WASHINGTON — Annual inflation in the United States rose to 7.9%, its steepest rise since 1982 and a harbinger of even higher price increases in the coming months.
Even before the war, inflation was at heights not seen in 40 years due to the measures of the Biden administration with its clean energy policy and severe restrictions on the US oil industry, in addition to the closure of oil pipeline lines from Canada to a fixed price agreed during the government of former President Donald Trump.
Gasoline prices explain almost a third of this increase, with an increase of 6.6% compared to January.
Last month, food items also suffered increases (1.0%), especially in stores (1.4%), while the increase in restaurants was much more moderate (0.4%).
On top of that, house prices, which comprise a third of the government price index, have risen sharply, a trend that is expected to continue in the coming months.
The report released Thursday also showed that inflation rose 0.8% from January to February, up from 0.6% from December to January.
Food products had their biggest increase in 12 months since 1981 (7.9%).
Inflation is rising at a faster pace and wiped out pay raises received last year, making it harder for most Americans to pay for necessities like food, gas and rent.
As a consequence, inflation has become the main political threat for President Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress ahead of the November elections. Small business owners say in surveys that it's also their biggest concern.
Seeking to curb inflation, the Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates several times this year, starting with a modest hike next week, after 11 months of downplaying the issue.
The Fed faces a tough challenge after months of inaction: If it raises them too much this year, it could weaken economic growth and trigger a recession.
All eyes are focused on the Federal Reserve, which will hold its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, in which it should decide on a first interest rate hike in two years. If it is moderate, analysts believe that at the point where inflation is in the US it will have a minimal impact.
Fuel prices, which soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rose again this week after Biden decided to ban imports of Russian crude. Prices eased on Wednesday after reports that the United Arab Emirates is going to call on other OPEC members to increase production, but that looks like a market correction rather than a positive sign.
US crude is trading at $108.70 per barrel. However, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it registered figures above 96 dollars in the US.
Health
Ants can learn to smell human cancer cells, as dogs already do but even more quickly, according to a scientific study that proposes to explore that clue.
Several experiments have recently shown that the canine sense of smell can detect some cancerous tumors that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which a human cannot perceive.
But this method requires long training - between six months and a year per dog - and is expensive, in the order of tens of thousands of dollars, Baptiste Piqueret, lead author of the study published this week in the journal iScience, told AFP.
This ethologist from the Sorbonne Paris Nord university tried the experiment with ants, an insect that uses its powerful sense of smell for its daily tasks and learns quickly.
This scientist, supported by a team from French institutions such as the Curie Institute, chose the most common ant species in the northern hemisphere, Formica fusca.
The insects were subjected to learning protocols in the laboratory, in which they associated an odor with a reward (a drop of sugar water).
In a first training session, the ant "walked around freely until it came across a drop of sugar water. While drinking it, it sniffed the environment (with its antennae) impregnated with a particular odour," explains the researcher.
In the next stage, the insect had the option of going to a place with the smell it had learned and to another with a different smell, this time without a drop of sugar water.
"If the ant had learned correctly, it would spend much more time hanging around the odor associated with sugar water, looking for the reward," he said.
These tests were carried out with odors from healthy human cells and cancer cells (produced by ovarian cancer) to see if the ants learned to differentiate between them. And then with two diseased cells (from breast cancer) to see if the insects differentiated between two subtypes of cancer.
"Three training sessions of less than an hour were enough for them to learn" the difference between these two subtypes, the researcher assured.
The protocol is very simple, and the training was done at home, during the confinement that France suffered during the spring of 2020, the researcher explained.
Now it is necessary to analyze "the effectiveness of this method thanks to clinical tests with a complete human organism", specified a statement from the French research organization that supported the experience (CNRS).
Preliminary experiments are being carried out with the urine of mice suffering from cancer.
Water is the essence of life, most of the planet, and also of our body. It is no coincidence that the Earth and the body have almost the same proportions of water (60-40 percent). And when that relationship is altered, then diseases begin to appear.
As we age, we stop drinking the correct proportion of water, which would be 500 ml per 20 kilograms. That is, for an adult over 85 kg, about 2.5 liters a day.
In my practice I have asked patients about the amount of water they drink per day. It is very alarming to see that they hardly drink, on average, between 800 ml and 1,200 ml, which means that they are all chronically dehydrated.
So I suggest a smart hydration plan. Let them set an alarm every two hours, to drink 200 ml of water. The alarm must sound at least eight times, to reach at least 1,600 liters. This already means an impressive improvement in symptoms: less muscle pain, urinary discomfort and allergy symptoms, as well as a better emotional state and strength.
Water is a living being. It needs to move and oxygenate itself to activate and increase the proportion of dissolved oxygen, thus becoming more alkaline and becoming a natural medicine.
Drink enough water:
-Dissolves metabolic toxins
-Increases the volume of blood plasma
-Insulin works best in a hydrated environment
-Improves allergies
-Improves fibromyalgia
-Reduces chronic fatigue
-Improves migraines and premenstrual syndrome
- Moisturizes the skin and less wrinkles appear
-Prevents muscle injuries
-Facilitates digestion
-Improves and prevents constipation
-Improve kidney function
-Facilitates the work of the heart as a pump
-Dissolves phlegm in the lungs
And remember that drinking beer, wine, juice or cola is not the same as drinking water. It is true that they have it incorporated, but they do not hydrate the body, rather they do just the opposite.
In short, water is the true wonder of nature. Starting today, set an alarm on your cell phone so that it alerts you when more than two hours have passed without drinking water. Drink at least two glasses, and thus you will avoid diseases derived from dehydration.