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Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM 03/30/21 Tuesday This material is distributed by Ghebi LLC on behalf of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. Doctors Investigate Mysterious Brain Disease Cluster in Canada by Mary F. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a degenerative brain disorder that causes personality changes, anxiety, depression and memory loss. The disorder, which can occur spontaneously or be inherited, can eventually lead to dementia and death. Officials in Canada are trying to find the cause of a mysterious brain disease, which resembles Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and has affected more than 40 people in the New Brunswick province. According to a report by Live Science. Canadian officials first alerted doctors in the New Brunswick area that they were evaluating 43 cases of an unknown neurological disease. Even though the first case was identified back in 2015, there have been a rising number of cases in recent years, with 24 cases reported in 2020 and six reported so far this year. Five deaths have also been associated with the disease insofar. Although doctors first speculated the cases were Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, tests conducted so far do not show any evidence of the disease. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by prions, a type of protein that can cause normal proteins in the brain to fold abnormally. Prion diseases, which can affect both humans and animals, can sometimes be spread to humans through infected meat products. "There is no evidence, not a hint — even in the three autopsies that have been performed — of a human prion disease," Dr. Neil Cashman, a professor at the University of British Columbia, told CBC. "That came as a surprise to me, frankly." Patients with the illness have developed progressively worsening symptoms like unexplained pains, spasms, cognitive decline, muscle wasting and chattering teeth. Most of the cases are in the Acadian Peninsula in northeast New Brunswick and near Moncton, a city in southeast New Brunswick. Multiple researchers are now racing to identify the cause of the disease, which may be due to a novel illness. Since the cases are localized to a certain region, the disease may be caused by environmental toxins, such as B-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and domoic acid, two both toxins that can build up in fish and shellfish. "It's possible ongoing investigations will give us the cause in a week, or it's possible it will give us the cause in a year," Cashman noted. This material is distributed by Ghebi LLC on behalf of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM ‘Crimes Against Wildlife’: Nearly 200 Baby Tortoises Wrapped in Plastic Seized at Galapagos Airport by Mary F. The Galapagos tortoises are native to several Galapagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean that lies about 1,000 kilometers off Ecuador’s coast. The Galapagos Islands are considered one of the best destinations for wildlife-viewing. Over the weekend, employees at a Galapagos Island airport found a suitcase filled with 185 giant tortoises, all younger than three months old, wrapped in plastic. According to a statement by the airport, the tortoises were found during a routine luggage inspection at Seymour Airport on Baltra Island on Sunday, after “irregularities” were noticed during an X-ray scan of the suitcase. The tortoises were destined to Guayaquil in mainland Ecuador. At least 10 of the tortoises were found dead. Another five died one day later. The remaining tortoises are currently undergoing veterinary reviews, USA Today reported. The individuals who checked in the suitcase have been held for questioning, while at least one Ecuadorian police officer has been arrested. In a statement on Twitter on Sunday, Marcelo Mata, Ecuador’s environment minister, said that he rejects "these crimes against wildlife and the natural heritage of Ecuadorians." Galapagos tortoises can live over 100 years. According to the World Wildlife Fund, they are considered to be a vulnerable species and have been protected by the Ecuadorian government since 1970. This material is distributed by Ghebi LLC on behalf of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. China Responsible for Half of Coal-Fired Electricity in 2020 - Report by Marv F. Coal plays an integral role in electricity generation worldwide, with coal-fired power plants responsible for around 37% of global electricity, according to data from the International Energy Agency. However, the burning of coal is also responsible for about 72% of greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity industry. A new report released Monday by the British research group Ember found that China accounted for 53% of coal-powered electricity worldwide, making it the only G20 member to have seen a substantial increase in coal generation last year. Specifically, the report found that China’s coal generation increased by 1.6% in 2020. “Globally, coal generation had its biggest fall on record, leaving China with an increasing share of global coal generation: up from 44% in 2015 to 53% in 2020,” the report notes. The study also found that electricity demand in China increased by more than 1,880 terawatt-hours between 2015 and 2020, which is greater than the total electricity generated in India in 2020. Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM However, the report also noted that China has made comparable progress in transitioning to a low-carbon electricity future since 2015, with wind and solar energy now responsible for supplying almost a sixth of China’s electricity, which is analogous to the world average. “More significant progress has been made in other G20 countries, especially in Germany and the United Kingdom, which achieved over 10% market share gains for wind and solar,” the report also noted. China, the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, has promised to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. “The transition towards a low-carbon electricity system is a mainstay of China’s bid to become carbon neutral by the mid-century. Making the country’s growth of electricity demand more sustainable is critical for facilitating this transition,” Ember senior electricity policy analyst Muyi Yang said in a statement. “For this, China needs to drive electricity consumption to be more efficient, to further promote high-quality economic growth, and to deepen electricity pricing reform, aimed at making electricity prices more cost-reflective,” he added. Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with 39 other leaders, are expected to attend the US climate summit in late April to discuss cutting greenhouse gas emissions. This material is distributed by Ghebi LLC on behalf of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. ‘Infinite Game’: US Army White Paper Reveals Plans for New Field of ‘Narrative Competition’ US Army by Morgan Artvukhina The US State Department last year unveiled a multi-decade plan for a struggle against China at home and abroad similar to the US approach to the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War. Other declassified documents have shown that while they publicly deny it, in private, US officials see it as another struggle between capitalism and socialism. In great power competition with Russia and China, the US Army is going to be asked to pull a larger weight than in past conflicts. According to a new white paper, the service will have a “critical” role in cultivating support and dependency on the US by its regional partners and keep them away from Chinese or Russian influence. The new document, which was viewed by Defense News, essentially breaks down the “competition” part of “great power competition” by acknowledging that it takes place in many spheres beyond that of armed military conflict, including the “soft power” areas of reputation, disaster relief, and economic exchange. The term “great power competition” was first applied to the US’ present geo-political situation vis-a-vis Russia and China in the 2017 White House National Security Strategy, expressing fears that China’s rise could eclipse the US and that Beijing would behave toward other nations as Washington has. The paper, authored by Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, refers to this expanded competition as “an infinite game,” calling to mind the “Great Game” euphemism used by Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 03/31/2021 8:50:58 AM European empires in the 19th and early 20th centuries for their genocidal colonial wars that enveloped the globe as one empire positioned for superiority over the others. According to Defense News, the white paper is part of a larger shift toward a “multi-domain operations” warfighting concept, which breaks down into competition, crisis and conflict phases. This is, essentially, a redrawing of the US Army’s roles in a globally coordinated effort between other domains, which include seapower, airpower, cyberpower, and the Pentagon’s most recent addition, spacepower. Another white paper published last week on that transformation, which is expected to begin next year, explains why the Army is approaching what is now widely accepted as a multi-decade struggle against China and Russia in this multifaceted way.