Hope for the future

 At the beginning of 1990, a book published by the unknown teacher of Arzano (NA), Marcello D'Orta, caused a great deal of attention, in which he collected some themes, written with the peculiar and authentic language of his students, in which the poor social reality of the place. These children, although resigned and sad in their condition of indigence, told with ungrammatical, distorted and hilarious what the teacher explained, hiding between the lines a strong desire for redemption, the desire to soon reach a more gratifying future than the reality in which one they found. In this period of pandemic, surely we too, at times, have gathered courage by repeating the most significant phrase of that book, "I hope that I will get along", confirming the wisdom manifested unconsciously by those children in their themes, the meaning of which explicit is embodied in the hope of a better fate in the future.

Hope (combined with faith and charity) is one of the cornerstones of Christian theology and, as we know, it is the last feeling to die. Therefore, it cannot be assimilated to generic formulas such as: "everything will be fine", aimed at exorcising an unexpected and unwelcome present, but represents a challenging and courageous awareness of a reality yet to be built through the experience of the past and based on the current situation. This is what our society needs in these uncertain times. Instead, we are invaded by a phony concreteness of unstable numbers and predictions, especially on the fight against the virus that has changed our existence. The vaccine that will save lives is rightly targeted: some say it is ready in Russia, but others fear that this is not sufficiently tested. It is therefore considered safer to wait for the one being tested in England, which could be distributed at the end of the year, or rather, in a year or perhaps two. Young people, always cited as full of high hopes, do not care about the pandemic, they prefer to have fun today, then we'll see tomorrow. Adults who manage this eternal present, without a clear vision of the future, are careful not to invoke hope so as not to be considered cowardly. The older ones are the only ones attached to hope, to try to survive. Hope cannot arise from uncertainty, it stands on solid foundations previously built.

"Society cannot accept a world without hope", said Mario Draghi, at the opening of the C.L. meeting and, in the continuation, underlined that "participation in the society of the future will require, from today's young people, even greater capacities of discernment and of adaptation ". In conclusion, it seems appropriate, first of all, a precise and public investigation into the reasons for what is happening today, as these, once defined, will make us look at the future differently. But, in particular, it is necessary to support cultural enrichment, a more accurate preparation of the younger generations, aimed at filling the gaps of a hedonistic society, of profit and consumption, to respond to its needs for structural change, in order to grasp those opportunities to be utilize for the future.

NATO: 71 years after

The Alliance was founded on 4 April 1949, as a system of collective defense concerning the metropolitan territory of the Member States, on the basis of the criterion of mutual aid: in the case of an armed assault outside one or more members all the others are committed to intervene to ensure the safety of the attacked members. The answer is not automatic but must be preceded by political consultations. In 1969, NATO took on unlimited duration (with the power of withdrawal by members).In 1991 he established a Partnership for Peace with Russia and began a process of enlargement to the East, including all the countries of  the Ex War Pact, the three Baltic countries and some countries of the former Yugoslavia. At the same time, cooperation agreements have been initiated with Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Mongolia. In addition, starting in 1999, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, for the first time it intervened militarily outside its area of competence, against Serbia and against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Today, NATO continues to be the world's leading collective security system, with the highest degree of standardization of its national forces and carrying out functions to contain Russian military and political influence in Western Europe (small NATO contingents have been deployed in Iceland, Poland and the Baltics). However, the Alliance also presents internal contradictions: Turkey's uncertain political position, following Ankara's veiled accusations towards NATO that it supported the failed 2017 coup and the purchase of missiles from Russia; Trump's call with Europe for more contributions to the common budget and finally, the start of other systems of cooperation between European countries, such as the Trimarium,a pact established in 2018, essentially of an economic nature, between the countries of the old Habsburg Empire. This groupes twelve countries, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, touching the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Adriatic. 

COVID-19 in Africa and Russia

Even in the event of a pandemic, it is normal for some geographical areas to be reached more slowly by the wave of infections. However, Russia and Africa are no less linked to China than other countries (such as Japan, South Korea and the United States) that are now grappling with high levels of EU transmission of the new coronavirus. What are the reasons why limited COVID-19 cases are occurring in those regions?

The first reason that comes to mind - and also the most dangerous - is the lack of testing of suspicious cases, or the lack of transparency in reporting them. In many countries, only citizens with a history of travel in the worst affected areas, or those with already severe symptoms, are subjected to tampons. This leads to an underestimation  of the cases of contagion intended to prolong the time of the fight against the pandemic.

In some countries, there is a lack of resources to tackle large-scale testing campaigns; others fear the economic repercussions associated with reporting cases (such as the contraction of tourism) or do not want to draw the world's attention to health systems unprepared for the impact of COVID-19. This lack of transparency risks creating other areas where the new coronavirus will continue to proliferate even when we have left the most critical phase.

A second reason could be the geographical factor. Most cases are recorded today above the Tropic of Cancer. Only 1.29% of global cases are concentrated in tropical or southern hemisphere countries. This may be a reflection of more poor ties with China, or rather of the type of climate, but it is also possible that other infections spread in these geographical areas will mask COVID-19 infections, mistaken for other diseases.

If the cause were limited contacts with China (which does not seem plausible), then even in these areas the cases should increase in the next two weeks, brought by Europe. If it depends on the climate, we should see a change in the situation with summer (ours) and southern winter; if, finally, other infections (or drugs already taken to stem them) have to do with them, the number of new cases should remain small.

Status of relations between PRISTINA and BELGRADE

In 1999, NATO intervened to stop the conflict between the two countries,  after claiming more than 10,000 lives and leaving more than 1 million people homeless. Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008, has not been recognized by Belgrade, Russia, and five EU nations. The United States and more than 110 other countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence. Brussels started mediation in 2011 amid strained relations between Pristina and Belgrade.

During his first visit to Kosovo on January 30, in 2020,  Borrell, the European Union's chief diplomat, continued the EU's policy of mediation, which has sought to bring the two countries back to the negotiation table after talks broke down in November 2018 when Pristina imposed a 100-percent tax on Serbian goods over Belgrade’s refusal to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Josep Borrell, has emphasized the need for bilateral dialogue to resume between Serbia and Kosovo, saying it was the most effective way for them to mend ties. "My duty, my task, my endeavor, my objective, is to accompany, facilitate the negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo," Borrell said, after meeting with Kosovar President Hashim Thaci. "Because the problem can only be solved by Serbia and Kosovo…and the result can only come from an agreement between the two of them". "There is no other solution." Borrell said.

Deterrence and nuclear proliferation

On 7 September, the UN General Assembly in New York, with 122 votes in favour (out of 192), one against and one abstaining, approved the "Treaty of The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons", making atomic weapons illegal, in the same way as other weapons of nuclear weapons. mass destruction. The Netherlands, the only NATO nation present at the summit, voted against it. The five nations recognized by the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the US, Russia, France, Britain and China and the four unofficial ones: India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea did not participate in the work in New York, as well as their allies, including Italy and other European countries. The Treaty mentioned above is a compromise aimed at limiting the construction of new devices and easing existing arsenals, while allowing member countries to withdraw if 'extraordinary events related to the subject of the Treaty have compromised them' interest,( art 12)'. This last clause, and the non-participation of NATO countries and those in possession of the weapons in question, make much of its effectiveness lost even before the Treaty was ratified.