Author: Press Room

Hungary is blocking the release of funding totalling €500 million earmarked for military aid to Ukraine, Euronews has learnt.Three diplomats from separate EU countries have confirmed to Euronews that Budapest is so far vetoing the disbursement of the European Peace Facility (EPF) mechanism money. One of the sources described it as a “violation of a gentlemen’s agreement” and “an attempt to undermine EU unity”.Euronews has reached out to Hungarian authorities for comment.Discussions in the working group are still ongoing, one of the diplomats told Euronews, adding that they’re now hoping to reach a deal on Monday. As this pertains to foreign affairs,…

The agreements signed between the European Commission and pharmaceutical companies to roll out COVID-19 vaccines offered significant long-term benefits to the corporations involved to the detriment of public health and global equality, research by NGOs has found.“Private interests exerted undue influence over European policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a crying lack of transparency on publicly funded vaccine contracts which left the public with more questions than answers,” Rowan Dunn, EU Advocacy Coordinator at Global Health Advocates, a French NGO, has said.Two reports released on Thursday and authored by Global Health Advocates and STOPAIDS, a UK-based non-profit, accuse the EU’s executive of redacting…

Emergency room visits related to three of the most disruptive viruses — the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 — are falling nationwide.But does that mean the feared “tripledemic” is over? Hardly, experts say. Viruses are notoriously hard to forecast.“We’ve all learned over the past couple years, when you try to predict COVID, you’ll get slapped in the face,” said Dr. Katie Passaretti, vice president and enterprise chief epidemiologist for Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina.Still, hospital emergency room visits for the biggest viral threats began to fall in December, with the decline continuing this month. This is especially true for flu.Children…

Nitrates and nitrites are found in food and water. They are sometimes added to foods like processed meats to improve shelf life.Researchers are still working to discover the risks and benefits associated with the consumption of nitrates and nitrites. A​ recent study found that exposure to nitrites through food and water sources may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic condition that can cause severe health problems if people don’t manage it properly. Researchers are still working to identify factors that increase people’s risk of developing type two diabetes. A​ recent study published in PLOS…

A new study has uncovered a previously undetected magma chamber beneath Kolumbo, an active submarine volcano in the Mediterranean Sea near Santorini, Greece.A group of international researchers used a novel imaging technique for volcanoes that produces high-resolution images of seismic wave properties, according to a Jan. 12 release from the American Geophysical Union (AGU).The study was published in the AGU journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, and the authors noted that the presence of the chamber “poses a serious hazard as it could produce a highly explosive, tsunamigenic eruption in the near future.” Researchers are recommending real-time hazard monitoring stations near other active…

The warming of the waters off the East Coast has come at an invisible, but very steep cost — the loss of microscopic organisms that make up the base of the ocean’s food chain.The growing warmth and saltiness of the Gulf of Maine off New England is causing a dramatic decrease in the production of phytoplankton, according to Maine-based scientists who recently reported results of a yearslong, NASA-funded study. Phytoplankton, sometimes described as an “invisible forest,” are tiny plant-like organisms that serve as food for marine life.The scientists found that phytoplankton are about 65% less productive in the Gulf of…

The food you put into your body doesn’t just satisfy your taste buds — it also feeds the trillions of organisms living in your gut. If you eat the right things, you will reap the reward of physical and mental health, and feeding your gut the wrong things may actually harm the little critters that live in your gastrointestinal tract. The idea of tiny organisms living in your belly may seem a bit unsettling, but these are helpful — a.k.a. good — bacteria. In case you don’t know, gut bacteria help your body digest food and therefore absorb the nutrients…

Eva Kaili, the Greek MEP at the centre of the corruption scandal engulfing the European Parliament, has been ordered to remain in prison for at least one additional month.The decision was taken by a Belgian judge after Kaili showed up for a hearing on Thursday.“In its order this morning, the pre-council chamber confirmed the pre-trial detention of E.K.,” said a short press release by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, using the accused’s initials.Kaili has the right to appeal the decision within 24 hours.During the hearing, Kaili appeared exhausted and couldn’t hold back tears when talking about her 23-month-old daughter, a…

Meta, the parent company for both Facebook and Instagram, has been told by its Oversight Board to restore two posts that showed a transgender person and a nonbinary person with bare chests.The board, made up of largely of educators, politicians and journalists, released a report Jan. 17, detailing the decision.“The Oversight Board has overturned Meta’s original decisions to remove two Instagram posts depicting transgender and non-binary people with bare chests,” the report stated. “It also recommends that Meta change its Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Community Standard so that it is governed by clear criteria that respect international human rights…

European lawmakers voted on Thursday to condemn Morocco for the first time in 25 years, as it called on the country to respect media freedom and to release all political prisoners and jailed journalists.In the resolution, MEPs say that Rabat has unfairly imprisoned journalists for politically motivated reasons, particularly in the case of Omar Radi, who criticised a Moroccan judge for jailing protesters.The vote in Strasbourg comes as the North African state is embroiled in a corruption scandal that is engulfing the European Parliament.Qatar is also implicated in the case, but both deny any wrongdoing.A letter seen by Euronews from…