Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Brazil's Bolsonaro hospitalized to check persistent hiccups
The Latin American leader has been plagued by hiccups for more than 10 days. He says they began after a dental operation.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to a military hospital in the capital Brasilia early Wednesday morning, complaining of persistent hiccuping.
Hours later, the president was transferred to a hospital in Sao Paolo for exams to determine whether he must undergo emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage.
The president's office said Dr. Antonio Luiz Macedo, who operated on Bolsonaro after he was stabbed in the abdomen at a 2018 campaign event, ordered the transfer.
Bolsonaro was originally admitted for treatment of persistent hiccuping, which doctors in Brasilia had hoped to find the cause of. Bolsonaro says it has gone on for more than 10 days and began after a dental oper
ation.
Questions about the 66-yearold's health have persisted since he was seriously injured in a stabbing attack on the campaign trail in 2018 — he has since had several bouts of abdominal surgery.
Later on Wednesday the
right-wing firebrand took to Twitter to blame the entire ordeal on his political opponents in the Workers' Party (PT), writing: "One more challenge, a consequence of the assassination attempt promoted by a former affiliate of the PSOL, left wing of the PT, to prevent the
victory of millions of Brazilians who wanted changes for Brazil. A cruel attack not only against me, but against our democracy."
Recently, the hiccups visibly impeded the far-right politician's efforts to speak during public events. "I apologize to everyone who is listening to me, because I've been hiccuping for five days now," Bolsonaro said on July 7, for instance, during an interview with Brazil's Radio Guaiba, adding, "I have the hiccups 24 hours a day."
Bolsonaro has faced growing public anger over his disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He has consistently dismissed the illness as a "little flu" — he was also infected last year but quickly recovered — and took a lax approach to both lockdowns and vaccine procurement. Brazil has the world's second-highest death toll in gross terms (536,000) behind the United States.
The president's approval ratings have been in free-fall for weeks and he currently trails his likely opponent, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in opinion polls, ahead of next year's presidential election.
js/msh (AFP, AP)
between China and Taiwan is tilting to China's favor, and the gap appears to be growing year by year," the Japanese document said.
Japan eyes China-US rivalry Japan, like the US and most major nations, does not formally recognize Taiwan as a state — China does not deal with countries who do — but does engage with and support the island's leadership through nongovernmental channels.
But, as Chinese economic and military power increases, particularly at sea, questions about how long the US and its allies can prop up the rival government in Taipei have gathered volume.
The US has increased its military support for Taiwan recently, including dispatching warships to the Taiwan Strait and arms sales.
The Japanese government paper said the shifting balance between the US and China could
unsettle the region.
''As China rapidly enhances its military power, changes in the military power balance between the United states and China may possibly affect the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region,'' the report said. ''It is necessary
to pay greater attention to the military trends of the two countries in areas such as the South China Sea and Taiwan."
China labels report 'irresponsible'
Japan also criticized Beijing for its ''relentless attempts to unilaterally change the status quo'' of disputed Japan-controlled East China Sea islands called Senkaku, calling it ''a violation of international law.''
China currently also claims almost all of the South China Sea and has built military bases on artificial islands in the disputed area.
Beijing responded to Japan's report, calling it "extremely erroneous and irresponsible." It also rebuked Japan's warning on Taiwan, saying that China only promoted peace in the region.
"Japan has for some time ... leveled unreasonable accusations against China's normal national defense construction and military activities, made irresponsible remarks about China's legitimate maritime activities, and exaggerated the so-called China threat," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
"We will never allow any country to interfere with the Taiwan issue in any way. China must and will surely be reunified, and it is in the best interest of regional peace and stability for China to achieve complete reunification," Zhao said at a daily briefing.
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aboard his Blue Origin LLC's rocket. The winning bidder, a private individual who had planned to join Bezos, his brother Mark and an unnamed astronaut, paid more than $28 million for the 11-minute ride. But the bidder backed out at the last minute last Thursday, and will be replaced by the 18-year-old son of another bidder instead.
And then there's Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company has signed a deal with Houstonbased space tourism company Axiom to send three private citizens and a former NASA astronaut into space. Axiom passengers will pay $55 million for the flight and a stay on the International Space Station in early 2022.
What is the environmental impact of space tourism?
Though these billionaires are at the forefront of the current space tourism boom, they're by no means the first to embark on a commercial space adventure. Twenty years ago, on April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito, an American engineer, paid a massive $20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz rocket, becoming the first civilian to visit the International Space
Station.
It comes as no surprise that space tourism has polarized public opinion.
Aside from health issues such as exposure to harmful radiation from the sun, one of the criticisms cited regularly is the impact that launching rockets into space has on the environment.
"The aspect that has been most focused on is depletion of ozone in the protective stratospheric ozone layer. The advantage, at least with the Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin rockets, is that they don't have chlorine, but they do have other components that can produce nitrogen oxides. And when that's released into the stratosphere, that can contribute to ozone depletion," Eloise Marais, an associate professor in physical geography at the University College London who's working on a study on pollutant emissions from rocket launches, told DW.
In terms of next week's Blue Origin launch, the BE-3 engine used in the New Shepard propulsion rocket will be using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. "Both will have an impact. Hydrogen and oxygen can produce water and water released into the dry stratosphere can influence the climate," Marais said.
Carbon dioxide emissions are also a concern, as that is the most long-lasting greenhouse gas causing climate change. Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane uses conventional rocket fuel, and emits CO2 about equivalent to a round-trip trans-Atlantic passenger jet flight. In contrast, Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket uses hydrogen fuel, which does not emit CO2 — although production of that hydrogen fuel likely has.
Economic and technological benefits
Space tourism is expected to become grow as a commercial sector and renew interest in space exploration. As a result, there will be more financial backing to support innovation in the industry. Technology developed for space tourism could result in spinoffs, and one day even be applied to other domains beyond space missions.
"We have gotten a lot of products that are safe in a space environment that we copy in a safe way for the benefit of people on Earth," Annette Toivonen, a space tourism lecturer at Helsinki's Haag-Helia University of Applied Sciences and author of Sustainable Space Tourism: An Introduction, told DW.
Manufacturing new and better spacecraft will also create job opportunities. In early 2021, NASA announced that it was offering $45 million in support to about 350 small businesses and research institutions to develop cutting-edge technologies.
"That's the good side, when we have three rich men using their own funds for these developments, and that it's not coming from the taxpayer," Toivonen said. "Private individuals are willing to use their money for these kinds of developments and technological innovations."
Some of those technological innovations might also pave the way to find more sustainable fuel sources that could benefit other industries. "Now, there's a lot of money for trying to create alternatives for fossil fuels. Then they might discover some kind of hydrogen fuel system that could be copied for airplanes," said Toivonen.
Space tourism is becoming a booming industry. In a report last year, Swiss investment bank UBS estimated that suborbital and orbital space tourism could have a market value of $3 billion by 2030.
Space tourism is here to stay
One question that pops up regularly is whether the space outside the Earth is meant for humans.
"There is a big ethical issue there. We have destroyed our planet; and then we go to space and destroy that as well. Legislation is completely lacking. It looks like the Wild West at the moment," Toivonen said.
Whatever your take is, the commercial race to space is in full flight.
If strapping in on a rocket isn't your thing, the spaceflight company Space Perspective is planning to take passengers to the edge of space in a high-tech version of a hydrogen-powered hot air balloon "the size of a football stadium." The first flights are planned for early 2024, with tickets priced at a more affordable $125,000 per person.
And, if you're planning a different type of holiday, the company Orbital Assembly Corporation plans to open a luxury space hotel in 2027. The Voyager Station features a restaurant, gym and Earth-viewing bars. A 3-1/2 day stay will set you back only $5 million.
Jordanian revival
"The Jordanian monarch hopes his long-standing friendship with Biden will yield dividends that would not only give a much-needed boost to the economy, but will also show Jordanian citizens, especially those in the majority who are of Palestinian descent, that he will use his influence with the US president to solidify US support for Palestinian rights," Gregory Aftandilian, a nonresident fellow at the
Arab Center Washington, wrote this week.
During Monday's meeting, the Jordanians are expected to lobby for an extension of its current five-year aid package, worth $6.4 billion and set to expire next year, experts have said.
Although tangible outcomes from the talks won't be immediately apparent, the signals sent will be significant.
"Luckily for the kingdom, regional and international actors still see the country as too important to fail," Aftandilian said.
"The fact that Biden is taking a more balanced approach to the Middle East means that once again, Jordan has a role to play," Ratka concluded. "Jordan still wants to play a part in those major Middle Eastern questions."
Facebook group "Hochwasser Hilfe Lohmar 2021" ("Help for flood victims in Lohmar 2021"), for example, people from the town of Lohmar, northeast of Bonn, and surrounding towns are listing what help they can offer or what they are looking for: tractors with trailers, clothes for adults and children, furniture ― or simply helping hands to clear out basements.
DIY stores
Shovels, submersible pumps and high-capacity flood drying equipment are needed in many places — and German DYI chains Obi, Bauhaus, Hornbach and Toom are just the places to provide these much sought-after goods. But the companies aren't taking advantage of the situation. Obi, for one, has said that those affected by the floods can borrow equipment free of charge. And people who want to donate drying equipment or pumps can take them to any Obi store, where they will receive a voucher worth the price of a comparable new device. Obi will take these donations and transfer them to the flood-affected regions. Other DIY stores are also offering large discount campaigns for people affected by the floods.
Haribo
The headquarters of the world-famous candy company outside Bonn has served as a collection point for donations inkind, with people dropping off children's clothing, blankets, dog food and toys right at the main gate. The rush was so great, however, that Haribo was forced to ask people to stop bringing items after just one day of the campaign. Employees are now coordinating the storage and distribution of the donations, Haribo stated.
Hotels
Some families have lost their entire house in the flood, or will not be able to return for some time. Those who haven't found a place to stay with friends or relatives can contact various hotel chains for a room. The Hilton Cologne is providing rooms free of charge, while HRS Group is offering discounted prices for flood victims who need a roof over their heads.
Food
Firefighters, rescue services and other helpers need to keep up their strength. That's why many grocery stores and discount chains have donated food, in addition to money. Firefighters in Wuppertal thanked the supermarket chain Kaufland and others for their food and drink donations. "We're seeing a lot of gratefulness and cooperation in Wuppertal! Great that so many are helping!" the city's fire department wrote on Twitter on Friday.
Child care
Parents whose basements are flooded or who have lost everything might not have a lot of time for child care right now. In order to "get the children's minds off things," as soccer coach Jose De Almeida Friessem put it, he has offered a free practice session at his Black & White Soccer School in Troisdorf, near Bonn. "Maybe then they will be a little distracted from their parents' worries," he said.
Cash donations
Whether locally or through larger foundations, those who want to help out financially can do so through many channels. Aktion Deutschland Hilft, a coalition of several reputable aid organizations, is running a major fundraising campaign. The initiative shared its donation page in a tweet and said that several of its coalition partners were already out helping in the affected regions.