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The apocalypse clock has never been so close to midnight, the hour of the end of time

It's 90 seconds to midnight and that means that humanity has never been so close to a global cataclysm, announced the group of scientists who run the apocalypse clock, which monitors not time but the end of time. The war in Ukraine has been singled out.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has been in charge of this symbolic project since 1947, unveiled its new timetable, designed to measure the imminence of a global catastrophe, at a press conference in Washington.

It has been brought forward by 10 seconds and now stands at 90 seconds to midnight, the fateful hour he hopes will never be reached.

The dangers of war in Ukraine

Since 2020, the clock has been 100 seconds shy of midnight, a record since its creation. The doomsday clock "is a symbol that measures how close we are to destroying the world with dangerous technologies that we have made ourselves", according to the scientists.

"We're moving the clock forward, and it's the closest it's ever been to midnight", said the group as it unveiled the new schedule, referring in particular, but "not exclusively", to "the growing dangers of war in Ukraine".

"We live in a time of unprecedented danger, and the doomsday clock represents this reality", explained Rachel Bronson, President of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Moving the clock forward "is a decision that our experts are not taking lightly. The US government, its Nato allies and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue at their disposal; we urge leaders to do their utmost to explore all of them in order to move the clock back", she added. This is why the expert group's communiqué will be available in English, Russian and Ukrainian, a first, she added.

In addition to the war in Ukraine and the nuclear threat, the scientists took into account "the persistent threats posed by the climate crisis", as well as the fact that "devastating events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, can no longer be considered as rare events that occur only once every hundred years". The group of experts also discussed misinformation and surveillance technologies.

Saving time in 1991

Originally, after the Second World War, the clock read minus 7 minutes to midnight. By 1991, at the end of the Cold War, it had moved back to 17 minutes before midnight. In 1953, as well as in 2018 and 2019, it showed minus 2 minutes to midnight.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein and scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project, which produced the first atomic bomb. The group of experts sets the new time every year.

RTS afp/fgn

Germany to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev

According to Der Spiegel, Olaf Scholz will give the green light to this delivery, as requested by Kiev.

Germany is to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, as requested by Kiev, two German media reported on Tuesday evening. For its part, the United States may agree to supply Abrams tanks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to give the go-ahead, probably on Wednesday, for the dispatch of German Leopard 2 type 2A6 tanks, according to Le Spiegel on its website, without citing a source. The media outlet adds that this involves "at least one company", i.e. at least ten heavy tanks. The NTV news channel, quoting sources close to the government, also reports that the German Chancellor, who has been under pressure for several weeks to give his agreement, is preparing to announce it.

World-renowned weapon

When questioned by AFP, the Social Democrat Chancellor's entourage declined to comment on Tuesday evening. The German leader, who is due to address the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday, would also give his agreement to countries, including Poland, that wish to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev, according to these media.

The Leopard 2 heavy tank, which Ukraine has been demanding for months from Germany and the West, is a world-renowned weapon with the potential to have a "significant" impact on the battlefield, according to experts. Designed by German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei and mass-produced from the late 1970s onwards to replace the American M48 Patton tank and then the Leopard 1 tank, the Leopard 2 combines firepower, mobility and protection.

Finland and Poland ready to do it

In Berlin, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday morning that he had "expressly encouraged partner countries that have Leopard tanks ready for deployment to train Ukrainian forces on these tanks".

So far, Finland and Poland have said they are ready to do so. Warsaw, which wants to create a "coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2″ tanks, has officially sent a request to this effect, the receipt of which was confirmed by Berlin on Tuesday.

"We will deal with the request as a matter of urgency in accordance with the procedure laid down", a German government spokesman said on Tuesday.

20min.ch

Noël Le Graët: investigation opened into psychological harassment

An investigation into psychological and sexual harassment was opened on Monday, following a report of "sexist contempt" targeting the president of the French Football Federation.

An investigation into psychological harassment and sexual harassment was opened on Monday, following a report of "sexist contempt" targeting the president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, the Paris public prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

This alert was issued after Sonia Souid, an agent for several French internationals, gave evidence to auditors from the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), according to the daily newspaper Le Monde.

Last week, Sonia Souid publicly denounced in the daily newspaper L'Equipe and on RMCThe French Football Federation (FFF) president, who has been president of the FFF since 2011, is considered to have behaved in a sexist manner. "He told me face-to-face, in his flat, very clearly, that if I wanted him to help me, I'd have to go to the pot," she said.

Referring to her past professional dealings with the head of French football, she explained that she had had the feeling that "every time, the only thing he was interested in - and I apologise for using vulgar language - was my two breasts and my arse". On 11 January, Noël Le Graët was "withdrawn" from the presidency of the federation by the executive committee.

"At this stage, I don't know what I'm accused of or who is behind it.

Noël Graët, Chairman of the FFF

When contacted on Saturday, the Ministry of Sport stated that the Minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, had been informed of the report, in accordance with procedure, and that she would not be commenting further on the subject.

"I have just been astonished to read an article in the World Le Graët reacted on Saturday in a statement sent to AFP after the report was revealed in the daily newspaper.

At this stage, I know neither the facts of which I am accused nor the people behind them," he said. More generally, I am surprised that information can be divulged even though the provisional report has not yet been sent to me and I have not been able to comment on it.

The investigation has been entrusted to the BRDP.

Text by Le matin.ch/AFP

Iran: UN accuses authorities of "state-sponsored murders" of demonstrators

The execution of demonstrators is a weapon used by the Iranian regime. This is the accusation made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The UN considers that the four executions of Iranian demonstrators in recent weeks amount to "state-sponsored murders". High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk accused the Islamic regime in Geneva on Tuesday of using the death penalty as "a weapon".

The unfair trials failed to meet international human rights standards, he says. In his view, the government would do better to listen to people's grievances and guarantee fundamental freedoms. The High Commissioner reiterated his call for an "immediate moratorium" on executions.

In particular, OHCHR condemns the application of vague criminal provisions, the denial of access to a freely chosen lawyer and confessions coerced under torture. The absence of the presumption of innocence and the lack of opportunities to appeal are also targeted. Similarly, the death penalty has been imposed for crimes that do not justify it, insists Mr Türk. It should only be applied to extremely serious offences such as intentional homicide.

The four people executed were executed in secret, without their families being informed. This approach violates international law, according to the UN. Nearly twenty more demonstrators are believed to have been sentenced to this punishment, including at least one woman and two people who could be executed soon, and more than a hundred could face execution.

System applied by the authorities

Iran, for its part, threatened on Tuesday to "firmly" punish those who violate the strict law on the wearing of headscarves in its crackdown on demonstrations, and is planning major measures against them, according to a deputy public prosecutor. The country's judiciary has announced a new death sentence. The High Commissioner is due to hold a meeting shortly in Geneva with the Iranian authorities.

Text by KEYSTONE - ATS / le nouvelliste.ch

Edward Norton discovers he is descended from Pocahontas

The "Fight Club" and "Glass Onion" actor was revealed on a programme that the Indian princess was his 12th-generation great-grandmother.

On Tuesday 3 January, host and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr revealed to Edward Norton that he was a direct descendant of the Indian princess Pocahontas. She is in fact his 12th great-grandmother.

The actor of "Fight Club" and recently "Glass Onion" knew that such a rumour existed in his family, explains CNN, but the historian told him that there were written traces of this lineage. He is therefore a direct descendant of Pocahontas and her husband, the colonist John Rolfe, whose marriage took place in Virginia in 1614. The couple had a son, Thomas Rolfe, in 1615, but Pocahontas died on her return from London in 1617, aged 22, probably of pneumonia or tuberculosis.

"It just makes you realise what a small... piece of the whole of human history you are," Norton remarked after the revelation.

The actor was less pleased to learn that his third great-grandfather owned slaves, including children. "It's uncomfortable to know that and there's a lot to be uncomfortable about. An 8-year-old child slave: you want to die reading that".

Cousin of Julia Roberts

Invited to the same evening, Julia Roberts also discovered that she had a slave-owning ancestor. And that she shared a DNA lineage with Edward Norton. "This means that you have inherited this shared DNA from a distant ancestor, somewhere at the heart of this family tree", explained the historian.

Text by Le matin.ch