LyrArc Article Gist
France bets on more nuclear energy for climate change action promised at COP26 Glasgow. Macron calls for the rebirth of France's nuclear industry, and commits billions of dollars to EDF to build new plants that will have a longer lifespan of 50 years. France gets over 50% of its energy from nuclear.

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As president Biden says a Russian attack on Ukraine could come at any moment and asks Americans to evacuate immediately, the Russians say that there is no such thing happening. The why the troops massed on the Ukraine border? Russia says normal military exercises, which is not so persuasive to Europe and America.

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How one can meet the needs of older people in small rural communities is the subject of this video report in DW.com. Cottbus is 12 kilometres away and the nearest town to a small rural community Neuhausen in Brandenburg state, Germany. Many older people rely on public transport and there are no stores in the small rural areas. Hildegard Blaske in her 90, still goes cycling, and remembers the time before unification in 1990 when older people still counted in a different way and quaint little stores provided their needs in the area.  

Former Day center employees Ulrich and Cindy use a retrofitted Peugeot Boxer vehicle to take groceries to older people where they live. Older people hesitate to go to stores during the pandemic. And they offer a chat and local news. This kind of effort is also a part of life in France today.

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An Indian born researcher takes on the mission of saving German forests and making them more resilient to climate change. Somidh Saha is at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In this video from DW.com he shows what is being done in Germany to protect forests.  Woodlands are under threat worldwide from urbanization and industry. About 80% of German trees are not in good health according to a German government study. Damage is shown being done by the bark beetle to trees already weakened for other reasons including drought. Saha says one has to be careful in evaluating how much of a country's space is healthy forests. In India he says it is sometimes said that 21% is forest land. Yet this includes plantations of many kinds- tea, rubber, coconut and so on. The healthy part of forests of high quality and suited to wildlife is a much smaller part of India. The COP26 in Glasgow was unique in one way- for the first time a zero deforestation target was set for the world. World leaders promised to end deforestation by 2030. Protecting forests protects the planet from climate change as forests act like a carbon sink.   ...

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A series of pictures of the parliamentary district in Berlin, Germany, from DW.com. The Jacob-Kaiser-Haus next to the Reichstag is the largest parliamentary building and faces the river Spree. It has a glass wall with the first 19 Articles of the German Constitution.

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Effects of endless distractions of social media on mental health. Social Media is no way to get news. It is only about 10 years since it spread, and mostly for misinformation. There are better ways to use technology to get news information across to viewers as is being done here in Lyrarc.

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Electric scooters that are popular in Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel.

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Used car prices went up by 40% in 2021, according to the Labor Department, contributing to the increase in inflation in the US by 7.5%.

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Moments filled with emotions during the Winter Olympics are shown here in this series of pictures from DW.com. Athletes missing by a little, small mistakes, persistence and some wins. Therese Johaug of Norway is overwhelmed with emotion as she comes out on top in the skiathlon.

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Year over year rise in prices in January 2022 that contributed significantly to inflation of 7.5% in the US are-

For power up by over 10%, gas prices up over 20%

For groceries bakery, cereals etc up by 1.4%

For housing prices up by over 4%.

For used cars over 40%, new cars over 12%.

Health care services costly in the US far above the other OECD countries not down significantly continuing to burden American households.

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The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is at the center of talks for resolution of the crisis in Europe over Ukraine. Under the arrangement setup under OSCE with Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France as members the security arrangements in Europe are set forth- all nations as member states will respect each others national sovereignty. Russia's approach to settle its concerns about Ukraine joining NATO on its borders was to exclude European Union and deal with this entirely as a US Russia issue. For Europe turning to the OSCE emphasizes Europe's role to solve disputes in its own backyard. This opens up ways to bring all parties to the table for talks. This is because the US position remains firm not conceding on the point of Ukraine choosing its own future and foreign affairs, in effect preserving the right of all of Eastern Europe to choose its own future, something gained after the fall of the Soviet Union. The US approach is also to use an information war of sorts to deter invasion by saying an invasion is imminent. This places the ball right back in the European court in this war of nerves. ...