Russian Reality

Queen Mary University of London biologists: people with allergies get COVID-19 less often People with allergies, including asthma and fever eczema, have up to 40 percent less risk of contracting coronavirus, the results of the study were published in the journal Thorax. Biologists from Queen Mary University of London studied data from 16,000 British adults from May 2020 to February 2021. Volunteers were asked to disclose information about their lifestyle – nutrition, rest, work, physical data such as weight, height, various diseases. During the study, COVID-19 was detected in three percent of people – 446 people. A detailed analysis of the data revealed a defense mechanism: patients with atopic diseases, such as eczema and dermatitis caused by allergens, as well as hay fever or rhinitis 23 percent lower had a risk of contracting coronavirus. In addition, asthma patients are 38 less likely to contract coronavirus, even when using steroid inhalers.

Special Representative West: US expects more from the Taliban in ensuring women's rights US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West welcomes the decree of the leader of the radical Taliban movement ( a terrorist organization banned in Russia ) Haybatulla Akhundzad on the protection of women's rights, but Washington wants more from the new Afghan government on this issue. The diplomat noted that the United States is positive about strengthening the ability of women to decide whether to marry and whom. “At the same time, much more is needed to ensure women's rights in all aspects of Afghan society, including schools, workplaces, politics and the media, ”West said. The leader of the radical Taliban movement, Khaybatullah Akhundzada, ordered measures to ensure the rights of women in Afghanistan. He called the woman a noble and free person and stressed that she is not property. Akhundzada forbade the forced marriage of Afghan

US President Biden said that he does not respect anyone's “red lines” in Ukraine US President Joe Biden refused to respect anyone's ” red lines “on the situation with Ukraine. This statement was made by the American head of state ahead of a conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, TASS reports. Thus, Biden commented on statements that Moscow considers the deployment of weapons in Ukraine, in particular, hypersonic weapons, to be “red lines”. and bringing NATO infrastructure closer to Russian borders. “I do not recognize anyone's red line,” the US President emphasized. The American leader said that Washington is developing comprehensive initiatives to make it difficult for Russia to invade Ukraine, as there are fears that a full-scale conflict, writes Reuters. On December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the North Atlantic Alliance to provide guarantees of non-expansion to the borders of Russia. Speaking at a collegium of the

Reuters: Recycling will not save humanity from the plastic waste crisis Experts interviewed by Reuters questioned the benefits of sorting for the planet. Circulate Capital is investing in initiatives to reduce waste in developing countries. Its head, Rob Kaplan, believes that radical changes in the production system will help rid the planet of mountains of garbage. To do this, businesses need to reduce the volume of disposable goods and focus on reusable use – to create packaging that implies refilling the product. According to the UN, about 300 million tons of plastic waste ends up in landfills around the world every year, and only ten percent of this is reused – the rest is burned or left to rot in landfills. According to experts, such a small share of properly disposed of waste is associated with too expensive equipment for sorting and recycling waste. The lack of advanced waste management

Bloomberg: Turkey sold more Bayraktar drones to Ukraine than was previously known Turkey sold more Bayraktar TB2 drones to Ukraine than previously announced , as reported by Bloomberg. As it became known, there may be new deliveries in the future. We are talking about several dozen aircraft already purchased by Kiev and at least 24 planned. Officials of Baykar company, which produces drones, as well as the Turkish government did not comment on this information. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, drew his attention to the provocative activities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbass and the use of Turkish Bayraktar drones. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were first used in hostilities in Donbass Bayraktar October 26. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the devices used cannot be called Turkish after the agreement on the sale.