The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has declared this Friday its aspiration to participate in regional governments at a congress in Maddeburg (eastern Germany), which was accompanied by protests from various organizations at a time when the party has a high flight in the polls.

“The AfD is not interested in a peaceful Europe and is following a nationalist course. That's something we already had once in Germany and we don't want it again,” said Magdeburg Solidarity group spokesman Jan Renner, who was among the protesters.

Meanwhile, within the congressional compound, the party leadership pointed to the options they have in the various elections to come.

“We are ready for more. In Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia we can become the most voted force. Although you have to remain humble, the polls are not electoral results,” said the co-president of the party, Tino Chrupalla.. With this, Chrupalla was alluding to the three regional elections that will take place next year in eastern Germany, and in which some polls show the AfD as the party with the most votes.

In order to be part of the government, however, the AfD would need an alliance with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which has a ban on cooperating with the far-right in its statutes.

In this sense, Chrupalla called on “all the patriots of the CDU to tear down the black and green wall”, insinuating that the sanitary cordon is a concession made by the conservatives to the Greens.

Chruppalla sees signs that the cordon sanitaire is losing strength and said it sometimes seems that Friedrich Merz, the CDU chairman, “would rather be head of the AfD.”

Merz recently caused controversy with statements directly or indirectly related to the AfD.

First, he said that the CDU wanted to be “an alternative for Germany but with substance”.. On another occasion, he insinuated that forms of understanding with the AfD should be sought at the municipal level, but later he rectified and recalled the existence of the sanitary cordon.

Chrupalla said his party is ready to build coalitions with anyone who makes “a policy in the interest of the citizens” but expressly excluded the Greens, calling that party “the most dangerous in Germany.”

In his speech, he also attacked the sanctions against Russia and said that the Greens, a minority partner in the current government coalition, had taken advantage of the war in Ukraine to suspend the purchase of Russian gas at low prices, which they had previously had as a political objective.

“The Greens want war with China and with Russia. The green we have is olive green,” he said, adding that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's policy had drawn Germany into the war in Ukraine.

The AfD's proposals include ending the shipment of arms to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia and a re-founding of the EU because, according to it, the current organization cannot be reformed.

However, the leadership reviewed a passage of that resolution in which the orderly dissolution of the EU was proposed and I assure you that it was a drafting error.

Although Europe will be the subject of the congress on Saturday, this Friday the group's entry into the far-right Identity and Democracy alliance was approved, although under protest from the delegates who considered this step as an exaggerated concession to the EU.

Party co-chair Alice Weidel said the AfD needs strong partners at the European level. ID belongs to parties such as the FPO in Austria, Marine Le Pen's party in France or Lega in Italy.

According to former MP Roland Hartwig, the ID program represents AfD positions such as the defense of the sovereignty of national states against what he describes as the centralism of Brussels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin assured this Friday that the authorities of the United States, Ukraine and the leadership of the Atlantic Alliance “refuse” to negotiate with Russia a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“All the contradictions must be resolved during the negotiations, but the problem lies in the fact that they refuse to negotiate with us,” the Russian president said, according to information collected by TASS.

“The conflict originates from the creation of threats to the security of Russia by the United States and NATO,” recalled the Russian president, who recalled that the Kiev authorities have “officially” refused to enter into negotiations with Moscow.

Despite everything, Putin recalled that Russia has always been willing to negotiate, and has once again reached out to the Ukrainian authorities and their allies to address the situation in Eastern Europe.

Russia and Ukraine held certain meetings during the early stages of the war, most of them in Belarusian territory. However, those negotiations did not prosper and, since then, the agreements between both powers are practically null.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has accused Ukraine this Friday of committing a “terrorist attack” by firing an S-200 missile at the city of Taganrog, in southern Russia.

“The Kiev regime carried out a terrorist attack with an S-200 anti-aircraft missile modified to attack (ground targets) against the residential infrastructure of the city of Taganrog, in the Rostov region,” the military statement published on Telegram said. .

The note indicates that the missile was intercepted in the air, but its remains fell on the territory of the Russian city, located on the shores of the Azov Sea.

“As a result of the terrorist act committed by the kyiv regime, several buildings were damaged and there were also victims among the civilian population,” the note states.

The governor of the Rostov region, Vasili Gólubev, reported nine hospitalized due to the event, although with minor or medium-severity injuries.. The information on the material damage suffered by the homes and an affected cafeteria is being specified, he added.

Later, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a new statement in which it reported a second missile shot down over the Rostov region.

“Russian anti-aircraft forces intercepted the missile near the city of Azov, in the Rostov region,” the military statement said. The note adds that the fragments of this second missile “fell in an unpopulated area.”

The independent outlet Vazhnie Istorii wrote on Telegram that the place where the remains of the first downed projectile fell is about 10 kilometers from an air base, where Russian A-50 early warning planes are parked.

Tu-95 bombers and special tracks for launching drones are also deployed at that airfield.

The Greek Minister of Citizen Protection, Notis Mitarachi, presented his resignation this Friday for “personal reasons” after not having attended the crisis management center this Thursday, in a context in which the country has suffered a wave of particularly devastating fires -that the Government has given the foci under control today-.

The resignation of Mitarakis and the admission of the same by the Greek Prime Minister, Kiriakos Mitsotakis, have been announced in a brief statement collected by the Kathimerini newspaper in its digital edition.

The Minister of Citizen Protection is responsible for the country's public security services, such as the Police, Firefighters or the General Secretariat for Civil Protection itself.

Mitarakis' replacement will be the, until now, Minister of Education, Sports and Religious Affairs, Yiannis Oikonomou, who will be sworn in at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace at 7:00 p.m.

Greece overcomes a historic tragedy

On the other hand, the Greek Minister for Climate Change and Civil Protection, Vasilis Kikilias, announced this Friday that all the fires are now under control after razing the national territory for ten days: a total of 667 outbreaks that have left five dead, counting three civilians and two pilots who died when their tanker plane crashed.

“After 15 days of extreme weather conditions and ten days with more than 600 fires in the country, today is the first day that we are not on alert,” the minister announced at a press conference.

The minister, who has denounced most of the fires as a result of human negligence, has also confirmed 74 firefighters injured during the fight against the fire.

“Most of them were arson, either due to criminal negligence or intent, but the difference with other years has been the climate crisis.. Since 2003 we did not have a map with very high risk categories over five days for so many regions,” he added.

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, which is celebrated this Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for expanded testing and treatment of viral hepatitis, warning that this disease could kill more people than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV together by 2040, if current infection trends continue.

Hepatitis causes liver damage and cancer and kills more than a million people a year.. Of the 5 types of hepatitis, hepatitis B and C cause the most illness and death. Hepatitis C can be cured; however, only 21 percent of people infected with hepatitis C are diagnosed and only 13 percent have received curative treatment.. Only 10 percent of people living with chronic hepatitis B are diagnosed, and only 2 percent of those infected receive the life-saving medication.

Under the slogan 'One life, one liver', the WHO has launched its World Hepatitis Day campaign, which underlines the importance of protecting the liver against this disease in order to live a long and healthy life.. Thus, they focus on the fact that good liver health also benefits other vital organs, such as the heart, brain and kidneys, which depend on the liver to function.

“Millions of people are living with undiagnosed and untreated hepatitis around the world, despite the fact that we have better tools than ever to prevent, diagnose and treat it,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.. “WHO remains committed to supporting countries to scale up the use of these tools, including increasingly cost-effective curative medication, to save lives and end hepatitis,” he said.

WHO will share new guidance to track countries' progress on the path to eliminating hepatitis by 2030. To reduce new infections and deaths from hepatitis B and C, countries must: ensure access to treatment for all pregnant women living with hepatitis B, provide hepatitis B vaccines to their babies at birth, diagnose 90 percent of people living with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C, and provide treatment to 80 percent of all people diagnosed with hepatitis. They must also act to ensure optimal blood transfusion, safe injections and harm reduction.

Vaccination, tests and treatment

Reducing hepatitis B infections in children through vaccination is a key intervention to limit viral hepatitis infections in general. The hepatitis B incidence target is the only Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) health target to be met by 2020 and is on track to be met by 2030. However, many countries in Africa do not have access to birth-dose hepatitis B vaccines.

Gavi's recent relaunch of its 2018 Vaccine Investment Strategy – which includes birth-dose hepatitis B vaccine – will boost newborn vaccination programs in West and Central Africa, where mother-to-child transmission rates of hepatitis B are still very high.

To help eliminate mother-to-child transmission, WHO recommends that all pregnant women be tested for hepatitis B during pregnancy. If they test positive, they should receive treatment and vaccinations should be given to their newborns.. However, a new WHO report shows that of the 64 countries with a policy on this, only 32 reported carrying out hepatitis B screening and treatment activities in antenatal clinics.

The report also shows that, of the 103 countries that reported, 80 percent have policies to detect and treat hepatitis B in HIV clinics, and 65 percent do the same for hepatitis C.. Increasing hepatitis testing and treatment within HIV programs will protect people living with HIV from developing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

After years of rising treatment rates, the increase in the number of people accessing curative treatment for hepatitis C is slowing. The WHO advocates taking advantage of medication price reductions to accelerate advances in the expansion of treatment.

A 12-week treatment to cure hepatitis C now costs $60 (54.6 euros) in low-income countries, up from more than $90,000 (82,004 euros) it originally cost when it was first introduced in countries high income. Hepatitis B treatment costs less than $30 a year ($2.4 a month).

For people who want to maintain liver health, WHO recommends hepatitis screening, treatment if diagnosed, and vaccination against hepatitis B. Reducing alcohol consumption, achieving a healthy weight, and controlling diabetes or high blood pressure also benefit liver health.

Brigadier General Abdourrahmane Tiani, commander of the Nigerien Presidential Guard, heads the military junta responsible for the coup in Niger, organized in the self-styled National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CLSP).

Tiani appeared this Friday as president of the CLSP on Nigerian public television and for the first time after the coup, led by the Presidential Guard and supported by the Armed Forces, to give an account of the reasons for his action. In his speech, he criticized the policy of the ousted government of President Mohamed Bazoum for being “incoherent and effective”.

For his part, he has assured that he will respect “all the international commitments signed by the Republic of Niger and human rights”, and has asked his partners to give “all the necessary support” to the CLSP “at this crucial stage”.

A “deeply dangerous” blow

French President Emmanuel Macron warned this Friday that the coup in Niger is “deeply dangerous” for the country and the region and urged the release of the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum.

“France absolutely and firmly condemns the coup against a democratically elected leader,” he declared at a press conference from Papua New Guinea.

The French leader called for the “restoration of order” in Niger, in line with a statement previously released by the French Foreign Ministry, a country that has a strong military presence in the African country and important economic interests in uranium extraction.

The EU insists on the liberalization of Bazoum

The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, has also insisted that the president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, be released “immediately”, after speaking with the president.

“I spoke again tonight with President Mohamed Bazoum. The EU reiterates its call for the immediate release of the president, whose security, physical integrity and freedom of movement must be guaranteed,” the Spanish politician wrote on the X social network, known until recently as Twitter.

French diplomatic sources reported in the early hours of Friday that Bazoum is in “good health” despite being detained at his home by the coup leaders.

The Russian Interior Ministry has added to its wanted list International Criminal Court judge Tomoko Akane, who issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As reported by the TASS agency, the database of the Russian Interior Ministry has included the Japanese magistrate, “wanted under the Penal Code”, without detailing which article is the one that would have violated.

Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the ICC leadership in March in retaliation for arrest warrants issued against Putin and top child rights official Maria Lvova-Belova for allowing the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas.

At least 16,000 displaced children

This committee pointed out, in addition to Tomoko, judges Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, as well as the attorney general, Karim Khan, for incriminating a supposedly innocent person and accusing a protected foreign agent.

The Kremlin has consistently denied that it is forcibly deporting Ukrainian children in the face of accusations made by kyiv and its allies.. According to the Ukrainian government, at least 16,000 children have ended up displaced against their will to Russian territory since the beginning of the conflict, while a recent study presented in February by Yale University denounced at least 6,000 Ukrainian children distributed among 40 Russian boarding schools.

The arrest warrants against Putin and Lvova-Belova represent the first international charges filed since the start of the conflict and come after months of work by a special investigative team under the ICC's chief prosecutor.. For its issuance it has been necessary for a preliminary panel of judges to accept the validity of the evidence presented.

This committee pointed out, in addition to Tomoko, judges Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, as well as the attorney general, Karim Khan, for incriminating a supposedly innocent person and accusing a protected foreign agent.

The mayor of the Japanese city of Onomichi, Yuko Hiratani, has apologized publicly after withdrawing from circulation a series of pamphlets, aimed at pregnant women, containing advice not to irritate their husbands during and after pregnancy.

“This campaign does not adapt to the feelings of pregnant women and other people involved in raising children,” Hiratani corrected in an official statement, announcing the withdrawal of material “containing expressions that promote perception and stereotyped practices of gender roles”.

As reported by the local newspaper Chugoku Shimbun, the leaflets began to be distributed after a survey of 100 new fathers in the city indicated that the main reason for having a wife was to carry out household chores. Some of the respondents commented that they were upset when their wife was “irritable for unknown reasons” and “couldn't take care of the housework” because she was too busy taking care of the small child.

In the brochures, they sought a remedy for these situations, advising pregnant women not to neglect cleaning, cooking or massaging their husbands, even when they had to take care of the babies.

Akira Takahashi, head of the municipal public health department, justified the removal of the brochures to The Mainichi newspaper: “They were intended to be useful for raising children, but their content fueled gender roles.”

About 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas, between miles 29 and 30 of Nevada's “Alien Highway,” there is an unmarked dirt road. At the end of the trail is Area 51, a military base, known, among many other unofficial names, as Paradise Ranch or Groom Lake on civilian aviation maps.

The legend that revolves around it leads thousands of tourists from all over the world every year to visit it, or at least, to walk the path to the doors of the building, because what happens inside there is part of the secrets of the United States Government. .

However, there are many who have dared to theorize about the true function of this military base, and there are those who, even from within, have wanted to tell the world about the mysteries of the place.. The last one has been David Grusch, a former Air Force officer who assures that the authorities are in possession of both spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin and the biological remains of their occupants. In fact, his statements have prompted the request that has been made from a subcommittee of Congress to the Government of the United States to request that it reveal the data on these objects.

The Origin of the Area 51 Conspiracy

Richard Bissell and Kelly Johnson. With them begins the history of this place that was not recognized by the US Government until 2013 -in the Freedom of Information Act- but whose origin dates back to the 50s.

Bissell, then director of the United States spy agency, and Johnson, an aircraft designer, chose to build an operations headquarters at this remote Groom Lake location to ensure the privacy the CIA needed to develop spy planes that would use in the Cold War.

In less than three months, the base had a paved runway, a control tower and facilities to house the test personnel.

When a Soviet anti-aircraft missile shot down in 1960 the U-2 -the plane developed at Area 51- the CIA began to develop the following. This time it would be a spy plane undetectable by radar.

If to the peculiar characteristics of these extravagant machines, we add the secrecy about the functions of this place by the country's authorities, we have the perfect cocktail for a good conspiracy theory.. In fact, it is likely that the test flights that were carried out in the vicinity of Area 51 were the origin of these conspiracies, since the population claimed to see spacecraft flying over that place.