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]]>-sponsored article
…and the Slovenian Primož Juvan built it with the help of a friend. The very existence of the facility on this side of Trebević popularized the visit to this mountain, so the “lungs of Sarajevo” are also visited by those who were not used to spending time in nature.
The home is located under the ridge that leads to the top of Trebević, half an hour’s drive from Sarajevo, and several marked trails lead to it.
Lovers of walking through the forest choose the path from Hotel Pino, which leads to the lodge in an hour and a half along marked and technically undemanding paths, while those who prefer climbing the ridge with a view of the mountains choose the longest trail that leads to the lodge from Lukavica, from “Energoinvest” .
There is also the shortest way to the home, parking the car at the end of the asphalt, towards the village of Blizanci and a half-hour climb up the ridge.
Guests of the home can enjoy the view of Sarajevo, sunsets and as many as 14 surrounding mountains, along with mountain tea, natural juice or other drink of their choice, while on weekends they also offer mountain food – beans and soup.
Primož Juvan moved to Sarajevo a little more than 20 years ago, and replaced his business life with the dream of building a shelter for mountaineers in a place he often visited, but also quickly returned to, due to the lack of a place where he could relax and enjoy the view after walks.
Remembering one of the best organized Winter Olympics, the one held in Sarajevo in 1984, he decided to pay tribute to sports, the Olympic mountain Trebević and the legendary Slovenian skier Jure Frank, who won the first Winter Olympic silver for the former Yugoslavia in the giant slalom at the Sarajevo Olympics.
So, seven years ago, with the help of the Municipality of East Stari Grad and mountaineers, a home was created that quickly became a favorite place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
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]]>The post Using artificial intelligence for research and strategy development appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>…little-known tools can be used in the process of research and preparation of various types of business strategies. In the following, I present some of the tools that are useful for both startup companies and mature larger enterprises.
– sponsored article
DimeADozen AI provides automated validation of business ideas and the preparation of a draft comprehensive document, which serves as an excellent foundation for creating a business plan, product or service development strategy, preparing application documentation for grants, and other similar purposes. The DimeADozen AI tool offers a multi-faceted analysis. The approximately 40-page report helps you identify business opportunities, understand competitor strategies, grasp user issues, formulate monetization strategies, and provide recommendations for user acquisition. The generated document assists companies, entrepreneurs, and innovators in testing, modifying, generating, and validating business ideas within minutes.
Would you like another assistant in creating a business plan? The Vizologi tool offers top-notch assistance. It provides idea storming, product naming assistance, market and competition analysis, SWOT analysis, the Business Canvas model, and everything else typically included in a business plan.
In the product or service development phase, The AI Toolbox for Innovators also proves helpful—a free tool, essentially an idea incubator. It consists of a set of tools designed to support the entire innovation lifecycle, from idea generation to market testing, making it an all-in-one solution for anyone looking to bring new, innovative ideas to fruition.
If, in the process of research and preparation of development strategies, you need results from other studies in your field, Consensus can assist you. The tool searches various research sources, summarizes published studies or research papers, and responds to your inquiries.
There are also tools that, with the help of artificial intelligence, analyze the behavior of potential customer groups, etc. For example, there are several tools for analyzing and creating personality traits for selected target customer groups (personas).
The Power Persona tool crafts detailed customer profiles, enabling marketers to gain a deep understanding of their audience. This tool is crucial for developing marketing, development, and other strategies, as well as creating targeted content and messages that potential customers will respond to more effectively. Delve AI serves a similar purpose, automatically generating customer profiles, including those of competitors. All of this allows companies to gain precise insights into their own and competitive market segments.
Based on the generated customer profiles, prepared with the help of artificial intelligence, companies can tailor their products and marketing campaigns to better meet the needs of their market.
If you need market research, customer feedback collection, or validation of ideas or projects through surveys and questionnaires in your work, you can utilize the new tool BlockSurvey. This tool not only relies on artificial intelligence but also operates on blockchain technology. BlockSurvey represents what is known as a Web3 generation tool, ensuring that the collected data is truly private and owned only by those gathering it. This establishes trust among respondents to surveys and questionnaires.
You can also visualize the collected data from your research or through surveys and questionnaires, along with existing data in your databases, using the Columns tool.
And finally, at the end of this article, let me mention a tool for enhancing your media presence. StatSocial is a crucial tool for any marketer looking to harness the power of social influence. This tool aids in the formulation of strategies and planning media posts. Through the analysis of billions of social profiles across various social media platforms, it provides insights into target customer segments, their behavior, or use of different media, their following and acceptance of individual influencers, and other insights—all to ensure that your decisions regarding media posts are as effective as possible.
As you can see, the individual tools presented above place a greater emphasis on the earlier stages of product or service development, such as idea validation and early market analysis, while others are more geared towards market research in later stages. Some tools are designed for specific use cases, while others offer all-in-one solutions. It’s essential to highlight that all AI-supported tools are regularly upgraded, and new, even better tools are continually emerging. In the future, we can expect artificial intelligence to provide high-quality analyses of the business environment, predict market trends, and offer data that will enable a more effective understanding of potential customers or market segments. However, these tools are already highly useful, with some being free or available at a very reasonable cost. Check them out for yourself!
Invitation: In case you would like to learn more about other tools and the use of artificial intelligence for various business purposes, join our online training titled Enhancing Operational Efficiency in Business with AI Tools. During this session, we will delve deeper into the world of artificial intelligence for content generation in daily business practices, for marketing and sales departments, for project teams and project management, for e-commerce needs, as well as for research and strategies.
Contact the author of the article if you have any questions or need advice.
(Dejan Marinković)
info@balkantimes.press / +387 60 356 6996
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]]>The post Memories from the Auschwitz’s death camp appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>Lilijana Segre was 13 years old at the time, and besides her father Albert, another 600 people were taken by train, including her two uncles. She is one of 25 children who survived in the infamous camp in what is now Poland. A total of 766 children were taken from Milan.
The wheels of suitcases are screeching, there are murmurs, the hurried steps of passengers, and from the loudspeaker of the train station in Milan you can hear: “The train to Rome leaves in 10 minutes from platform 3”. From one platform of this magnificent station, trains do not leave. They used to. They took people away. into death.
“The journey lasted for days and it was cold. I remember there were many people on the train and there was no room. My father held me in his hands,” Liliana Segre, an Italian senator and one of the 22 survivors who were loaded by the Italian fascists on January 30, 1944, into one of the wagons that took them to the Auschwitz camp, told the BBC in Serbian.
Lilijana Segre was 13 years old at the time, and besides her father Albert, another 600 people were taken by train, including her two uncles. She is one of 25 children who survived in the infamous camp in what is now Poland. A total of 766 children were taken from Milan.
At the mention of the story of Auschwitz, her eyes freeze. “When we arrived, they tattooed me with the number 75190. I worked in a factory where ammunition was made. My father was killed immediately,” Segre tells the BBC in Serbian.
This vital woman visits the memorial center in Milan every year. While talking to the young people who came there, you can see on her face that she is happy that the new generations want to know what happened. in the Auschwitz camp.
Before she, her father, and her uncles were transferred to Auschwitz, they tried to escape to Switzerland in December 1943. However, the police caught them and took them to the San Vittore prison in Milan, where they were held for 40 days. Then, one night, they were brought to the railway station and, in transport wagons intended for the transport of goods and animals, transferred to Auschwitz.
From December 6, 1943, to January 30, 1944, Jews were brought to the station at night, during the curfew.
More than 800 people were deported from there to Auschwitz, of which only 22 survived. Among them was Liliana Segre.
Before the deportations began, every evening a van with goods would arrive at platform 21 from the main post office, which is located opposite the Milan railway station, which would then be loaded onto the train.
“That van was used to transport Jews. He would pick them up at night at San Vittore prison and take them to the station,” says Talija Biduza, director of educational programs at the Shaw Memorial Center, for the BBC in Serbian.
For decades after the war, platform 21 was an almost forgotten and neglected place. Today, visitors can enter the carriages of the train in which the Jews were transported to the camp because the memorial center was opened in 2013.
“A train car with room for seven horses could fit about seventy people,” says Deborah Gresani, an employee at the Memorial Center. Even today, there are no seats or benches in the cars. There are no windows, except for an opening above the door with bars, through which air would come in. On the walls of this terrifying place are projected the names of all the men, women, and children who have been identified – 605 of them.
The railway station, a magnificent building, was built during the reign of Mussolini. Ulize Stakini, a famous architect of that time, used white marble for construction, as a prestigious material used during the dictatorial regime, symbolizing power. When it was opened in 1931, trains with 24 platforms ran to many Italian and European cities.
From one platform, a train headed for the Nazi camp Auschwitz.
“Only in the early 1990s, the non-governmental organization Sveti Eđidio launched an initiative to open a memorial center,” Gresani told the BBC in Serbian.
“Today this is a place of remembrance, but also an educational center visited by pupils and students.” At
the beginning of 2023, the Milanese artist Aleksandar Palombo drew two murals on one of the walls of the train station in Milan, turning the Simpson family from the popular animated series of the same name into a Jewish family. during World War II. One mural shows Homer, Marge, and their children as they wait in line to board a train to Auschwitz.
Their coats are pinned to the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear during Fascism and Nazism. Another drawing featured a family of five in camp uniforms, visibly tortured, sad, and scared faces However, that mural was destroyed in the months after it was painted.
The artist then stated that this anti-Semitic act emphasizes the danger of indifference and forgetfulness, but also hatred and racism. At the entrance to the Shoah Memorial Center, the word “Indifference” is written in large letters. That word was also chosen by Senator Segre, who dedicated her life to educating young people about the horrors of Auschwitz.
“Indifference is even more dangerous than violence.” Because when you are attacked, you know who to defend against. There is nothing scarier than when people turn their heads over the evil they witness,” says Segre.
(Antena M)
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]]>The post left-wing has to communicate quality solutions to the wider citizenry appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>…is not realistic.
The strengthening of right-wing parties in the world may continue this year, but it is not realistic for parties of that orientation to win a majority in the elections for the European Parliament (EP), said the executive director of the Center for Civic Education (CGO) Daliborka Uljarević.
She said that the trend of strengthening the right in Europe began in 2008, with the world economic crisis.
The world economic crisis, she added, is one of the cyclical capitalist crises and caused uncertainty, instability, the decline of the middle class in society, and the consequent strengthening of the extreme right.
In an interview with the MINA Agency, Uljarević said that, in the meantime, other elements have joined this type of crisis.
“In the last period, we had the effects of what was the crisis brought by the coronavirus, then the immigration crisis, and also the wars that we have witnessed in recent years. Cumulatively, all this was expressed in what is a change in the fabric of political relations and structures”, stated Uljarević.
As she said, during that period, extreme right-wingers managed to detect problems well and offer citizens quick and easy solutions for complex social, economic, political, and social challenges, which is not the right way.
“Of course, all these challenges and problems require much more professional, radical cuts, and that, on the other hand, leads to the renunciations of the citizens themselves, so they also turned to what seemed to them to be a simpler way,” said Uljarević, saying that there are no quick or easy solutions to big problems.
She said that the fact that many are paying dearly for the delusion or belief that things can be solved overnight and that there is some magic wand, which, as she stated, right-wingers often point out.
When asked if she agrees with the estimates that the trend of strengthening the right, which was recorded last year, may continue this year, Uljarević answered in the affirmative.
“The only question is whether it will be a strengthening in terms of a change in the political constellation in certain states and a wider influence, or whether it will be reflected only in the better positioning of a certain right-wing group in the individual parliaments of the member states,” said Uljarević.
Asked if she thinks it is realistic that the right has a majority in the EP, she said that she does not think it is a realistic scenario.
“With a note that we will have a stronger right-wing bloc within the EP, which is certainly a sign of the weakening of the moderate right, but also of the inability of the left to communicate quality solutions to the wider citizenry,” stated Uljarević.
She said that she believes that within the EU, however, there is a democratic pluralist order in which movements with a strong mobilization potential are “alive”, and that this will also have an effect on limiting the enormous growth of the right.
“These days we are also witnessing protests, like the one in Germany, which is probably the largest recorded so far. It should not be ruled out that we will have similar things in other member states”, added Uljarević.
As she said, Germany is very important here for many reasons, not only because it is one of the EU’s founding states, but also because it has a great influence on the shaping of policies and the direction of the entire Union.
Asked how the rise of the right in the EP would affect the functioning and future of the EU itself and its enlargement policy, Uljarević said that in that case, certain processes would certainly slow down, but that she believes that the democratic order that exists within the EU is still stronger. and tougher than those forces that want to collapse it.
According to her, it is natural and expected that this would have consequences for those who are the weakest in the system, that is, those who are waiting for EU accession.
“We should also not ignore the fact that Hungary will take over the EU presidency from July and that we can already expect, regardless of what the results of the EP elections will be, certain attempts to position politics differently”, stated Uljarević.
She added that Hungary when it comes to Ukraine in the EU, had a different attitude than the other 26 member states.
“The growth of the extreme right is, on the one hand, an expression of xenophobia that appeared in society in a certain period. At the same time, it (the extreme right) continues to feed this xenophobia, and then we end up in a vicious circle,” Uljarević said.
She said that these negative trends in the EU will last for some time and that we need to have answers to that.
“Progressive forces in all societies, including ours in the Western Balkans, have a special responsibility here, where progressive, anti-fascist, and left-wing currents should connect much more and try to give their answer to all these issues we are facing,” she added. is Uljarević.
Asked how the strengthening of the right affects the Western Balkans and whether it is strong enough to resist those negative consequences, she said that the countries of the region have shown in the past that they succumb to negative influence much more easily than they manage to preserve certain positive trends, or from them. they build on some new practices.
According to Uljarević, this is not unexpected for societies with an underdeveloped political, action culture, and human rights culture.
She said that in that part she sees a huge responsibility of political decision-makers, but also of civil society, the media, and the academic community.
Uljarević pointed out that what is currently happening in the EU, or on the other side of the world, are not isolated things.
“We are all somewhere in the same hole and we have to think about what kind of consequences it can have for us specifically,” stated Uljarević.
When asked whether, in the elections in the United States of America (USA), the victory of Joseph Biden or Donald Trump is more certain, she replied that she thinks it is too early to assess that.
“Because for them, elections are a serious story, which is conducted for a long time and systematically, and modern communication channels have added complexity to that story, so I would not prejudge at this moment,” stated Uljarević.
She said that she hopes that the USA will not again find itself in the situation it had in the period when Trump was in power and when he was stepping down from power, because those were scenes that we had not had the opportunity to see in that country before.
The USA, as she added, in many ways serves as a model of someone who is democratically mature and where certain anomalies in society manage to be solved through the strength of institutions and processes, which function independently of who leads the country.
“It remains to be seen whether the result will be the same as we have had before. It is not good for America either, that in this way it is returning to a conservative, or extreme right-wing approach,” said Uljarević.
According to her, it will be a big disruption in the system, if Trump is the president of the USA again.
“But, on the other hand, we’re used to America bringing certain surprises, so we shouldn’t completely rule out the result or the possibility of being pleasantly surprised there,” Uljarević added.
She said that the elections in the USA have a lot of influence on events and political changes in the world because it is one of the key players on the international stage.
“Ultimately, we had the opportunity to see how it was reflected, to bring it back to our micro level, to Montenegro”, stated Uljarević.
She assessed that certain processes, primarily those related to malignant influences from outside, gained momentum in Montenegro after the country entered into NATO, and that is because the USA lost its focus on Montenegro.
“They in a way singled us out as a country that met certain standards and relied on the fact that everything else that was not achieved, and that should have been completed even when we joined NATO, would be compensated in some way through the process of European integration”, said Uljarević.
She said that this did not happen and that the absence of that synergistic action by the USA and the EU led Montenegro to the fact that today she has a much more difficult position in the negotiations with the Union and “let’s talk about some processes, freedoms, and rights for which we are thought that they had been overcome and that we no longer had to deal with them”.
“If in that segment we had that American administration that is dedicated to Montenegro, whose focus is not on other countries and if we did not have, in my deep conviction, the Trump administration, some processes of establishing democratic consolidation and functional rule of law would have been fast and easier”, believes Uljarević.
(Antena M)
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]]>The post Magic Spa in Serbia existing from the Roman era appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>If you are bored in the city and want to spend an unforgettable day away from the city crowd, we have a great thing for you.
A little more than two hours drive from Belgrade, a small spa located in the forest, rich in thermal springs, awaits you. And water is healing.
On winter days, Ribarska Banja is particularly attractive to visitors due to its thermal springs and open pool with a water temperature of 38 degrees, which is why many call it “Iceland in Serbia”, writes City magazine.
Ribarska Banja is a shining jewel of Serbia, which was also known in Roman times. This magical place is located in the embrace of the Jastrebac mountain, near Kruševac.
Some sources say that the facilities in the spa were built on the initiative of Karađorđević, Prince Alexander, and King Peter the First, who, of all the spas in Serbia, liked this particular spa.
The healing properties of the water from the thermal springs date back to the time of the Romans, which is confirmed by the archaeological remains from the surroundings of the spa.
The baths, which are indispensable for all visitors today, are related to the era of Empress Milica, who allegedly came here regularly.
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The spa’s thermal springs are considered medicinal and have therapeutic properties because they are rich in minerals such as sulfur and other elements that have a beneficial effect on human health.
These sources are recommended for the treatment of conditions such as bone and joint diseases, and rheumatic and neurological problems, but also for improving circulation and general well-being.
As we have already mentioned, the charms of this spa and its healing springs were first discovered by the Romans, and quite by accident.
Several of their soldiers, after a few days of resting on this ground, while bathing and using the healing water, realized that they felt great and reborn, and we do not doubt that you will feel the same way if you spend at least a day in this spa.
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(Nova.rs)
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]]>The post Croatia is preparing for mandatory military service appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>The idea of reintroducing military service in Croatia has once again found itself in the center of public interest after the announcement that the Ministry of Defense is working on the concept of some kind of military training, to which experts warn that this is a topic that requires a thorough analysis of defense needs and capacities.
Military service was abolished in Croatia in 2008 by a decision to suspend mandatory military service to professionalize the army and introduce voluntary military service.
Since then, the topic of re-introduction of military service has sporadically appeared in public, often on the eve of elections.
Slavko Barić, a lecturer at the Croatian Military Academy, believes that at this moment military service should not be the goal but the result of a deeper and broader analysis of defense policy and the security situation in which Croatia currently finds itself.
“In this discussion, I don’t see that the needs of the profession are being answered, but only of the public. We need to learn from other countries in the EU and NATO, which approach the issue more comprehensively and do targeted checks and analyses of security needs,” said Barić.
Military analyst Vlatko Cvrtila agrees with this and believes that before introducing any form of military service, Croatia needs a serious analysis and assessment of the defense and military capacities of the Croatian army, and then assess what type of military education we need.
“Here we are moving in an opposite direction, in which we first determine the education and only then decide what the outcomes of the education will be in terms of increasing our military capabilities,” explained Cvrtila.
Although the policy towards military service at the beginning of the millennium was the abolition of mandatory military service, in the last few years there has been an increase in countries considering the reintroduction of military service.
The topic began to come into focus again during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and after the conflict on the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, several countries started more comprehensive defense policies that included some forms of military service.
“As a rule, we see that the situation in international frameworks is developing and we see that it is getting complicated. A large number of countries are thinking about returning to military service or returning it completely. So, in this context, the renewal of the subject of military service is clear,” pointed out military analyst Marinko Ogorec.
Among the countries debating the reintroduction of military service, the Baltic and Scandinavian countries have made the most progress, reintroducing various forms of military training.
Barić believes that the Scandinavian countries represent a good model of a more comprehensive approach to defense policy. “Through the civil training system, they educate citizens so that they are ready for civil defense, and only in the next phase do they take a small percentage of people for education aimed at military skills and analysis,” explains Barić.
The defense system is not a matter of military service, but of defense planning and security preparation of the country, which means that there must be two elements – military preparation and civilian preparation of the population.
Cvrtila also gives a positive assessment of this model and emphasizes that the issue of military service itself must not be excluded from a more comprehensive approach to security and defense policy.
If Croatia were to start re-introducing military service, it is estimated that around 170 million euros would be allocated annually for this purpose.
Cvrtila maintains that there would be room for this in the budget, but experts believe that it is not only a matter of financing, but also of the way military service is implemented.
Ogorec believes that the army should be revitalized, stressing that it is necessary to think about the duration of the training itself if military service is introduced.
In his opinion, six months would be a good time for the participants to undergo training, partly specialized, and to learn to function in the system of defense needs.
The idea of potential courses lasting a month, which is one of the options that have appeared in public, is problematic for Cvrtila because he believes that Croatian citizens are facing risks that are not only a matter of the military but also of civil protection.
“What is certain is that we are daily surrounded by risks that are a consequence of climate change or human activity and the like, which threaten people’s health and the environment.
I am sure that the vast majority of people, not only those who would potentially be course participants, for example, adult high school students, have no idea that civil protection exists and do not know how our protection and rescue systems are organized,” warns Cvrtila.
He points out that civil protection is a mechanism that would offer young people the skills needed to reduce everyday risks.
“It is much broader than military capabilities, and perhaps it would be better to think about developing security policy at a much higher level than it is now,” concluded Cvrtila.
Barić also agrees with such conclusions, pointing out that the issue of personnel who would conduct military training is also important. He thinks that bringing in officers from the regular army to do training would be a disruption to the regular work of the army.
“Organizational, human, and material conditions need to be created to introduce something that is a serious response to the security challenges we are currently facing,” stressed Barić.
(TPortal)
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]]>The post 40 Years After: Sarajevo Olympic Week appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>Please note that entrance to all events from February 9 to 13 is open to all visitors! You can follow the program and information about the activities on social networks.
Sarajevo, known as the city that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, proudly announces Sarajevo Olympic Week, an event that will take place from February 9 to 13. This manifestation is a combination of sports activities, panel discussions, artistic performances, and exhibitions. The activities of this year’s Sarajevo Olympic Week will take place in five different locations – Olympic Museum Sarajevo, Wilson Promenade @ Sarajevo Street Food Market, Dom Mladih, European House of Culture and National Minorities (former Austrian House), and Bjelašnica.
Five days of fellowship will begin with a series of panel discussions that will explore various aspects of cultural diplomacy, connecting sports and culture, building sports cities, cooperation between the private sector and civil society, and sustainability in sports. The special guest and keynote speaker is Elmir Ćerimagić, an expert who will provide a scientific view of sports. His contribution will further enrich the variety and seriousness of the topics that will be discussed during the panel.
Sarajevo Olympic Week also opens a platform for young artists through a graphic design competition with the task of creating a poster to mark the 40th anniversary of the Olympics and Sarajevo Olympic Week, using the motifs of posters and emblems from the time of ZOI 84. The works of registered artists will be presented at the exhibition, allowing them to show their talent and creativity.
In addition to the exhibition of works by graphic designers, the audience will also enjoy the exhibition of digital art in the European House of Culture and National Minorities (former Austrian House). The exhibition will show the beauty of the natural mountain areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina through various formats, providing visitors with an insight into the natural resources of our country.
The food market on Wilson’s Promenade will be the epicenter of entertainment, but also the place where the Sarajevo Olympic Rink will be presented. Visitors will have the opportunity to participate in an open competition in curling, hockey, a skill range, curling for little ones a sledding showcase, and many other contents.
For those who are eager for a famous Sarajevo pastime, Garden of Dreams and Sarajevo Olympic Week are organizing an audio-visual spectacle led by Swede Ida Engberg on February 9 at the Youth Center. You can find tickets at www.kupikartu.ba
Sarajevo Olympic Week promises five days of unforgettable experiences, combining the spirit of sport with the rich cultural heritage of this city. All lovers of sports, art, and entertainment are invited to join and enjoy the unique atmosphere of this prestigious event. A special surprise is the promotion of new ambassadors, respected representatives of the Sarajevo Olympic Week idea.
Sarajevo Olympic Week is not just a festival and a memory of something that happened 40 years ago, but a story that wants the flame of Sarajevo to be lit again. This project ignites the flame of love for sports, culture, art, and togetherness, so expect an exciting February filled with content for all generations.
Please note that entrance to all events from February 9 to 13 is open to all visitors! You can follow the program and information about the activities on social networks.
Let’s make Sarajevo the city of the future, light the flame together, and let our light, the light of Sarajevo, illuminate the whole world. #KeepTheFlameAlive
(FACE TV)
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]]>The post Volcano erupts in Iceland, sending lava into fishing town appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>At least three houses were set alight on Sunday as lava reached the edge of the port of Grindavik, according to live images broadcast on public television.
https://x.com/Dachronica/status/1746581684256997563?s=20
Johannesson assured, “No lives are at risk, though infrastructure may face threats,” in a post on X. The eruption occurred before 8 am local time after evacuating the 4,000 residents due to small earthquakes. A 450m crack near Grindavik expanded to a 900m fissure by 6:45 pm. Another 100m fissure appeared on the town’s edge by midday.
https://x.com/SKnewsII/status/1746599067038187916?s=20
It is the second time the volcano located southwest of the capital Reykjavik has erupted in less than a month and the North Atlantic nation’s fifth volcanic eruption in less than three years.
Grindavik was evacuated in November after large cracks opened in the earth in advance of an eruption on December 18.
AlJazeera
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]]>The post The Golden Age of Islamic Civilization appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>
Get ready for a sensational journey through time and space because Muslim scientists were true visionaries who shaped the world!
Did you know that many stars carry Arabic names because they were discovered by Arabs? Ancient astronomy in Arabia was quite scientific and precise. The ancient astronomers named many of the stars and as time passed these names were used on sky maps and navigation charts. They still are used today just as the constellations even though the origin is not modern.
“For this field, the most credit goes to Al-Battani and Al-Biruni.”
Al-Battani
Al-Battani was born around 858 C.E .He known as the ‘Ptolemy of Arabs,’ was a mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer born around 858 near Haran, Syria. His book, Kitāb az-Zīj, introduced significant trigonometric relations (sine, cosine, tangent), shaping modern astronomy. He cataloged 489 stars, calculated the solar year (365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, 24 seconds) with 99% accuracy, and refined Ptolemy’s work on the sun’s farthest point.
Al-Battani pioneered the determination of the solar year and changes in seasons, identified new stars, and confirmed Ptolemy’s findings. He accurately calculated the solar year as 365 days with an additional 5 hours and 45 minutes, aligning with modern science.
Al-Biruni
Al-Biruni,not only studied the stars but also knew where America was before many others even thought of discovering the New World. Although he claimed the existence of America in the early 11th century, he himself never saw the continent. His unparalleled knowledge of geography and cartography led him to the conclusion that the world they knew then, stretching from the western coast of Europe and Africa to the eastern coast of Asia, actually constitutes only two-fifths of the total surface area of the world.
Αl-Biruni was an astronomer, mathematician and philosopher, studying physics and natural sciences too. He was the first able to obtain a simple formula for measuring the Earth’s radius. While Europe was in the grip of the ‘Dark Ages’ of the Middle Ages.… al-Biruni, as a forerunner of the Renaissance, was far in advance of the scientific thought then obtaining in Europe.
Did you know that words like “camera,” “algorithm,” and “algebra” owe their existence to the brilliance of Arab minds? They not only illuminated the Golden Age of Islamic civilization but also laid the foundations for the modern technology we use today. Arab scholars were not just astronomers; they were adventurers too!
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
It was a 9th-century Muslim genius, mathematician, geographer & astronomer, Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi – also known as the Father of Algebra. Al-Khwarizmi’s most significant contribution to mathematics was the development of algebra. His book, “Kitab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala” (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), introduced systematic methods for solving linear and quadratic equations.
The title “Kitab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala” is from Al-Khwarizmi’s most famous work, serving as the foundation for the term “algebra.” This work laid the groundwork for algebraic methods and techniques in solving equations.
By introducing zero into the Indian positional system of nine digits, Al-Khwarizmi established the basis for the decimal system and the transition from Roman to Arabic numerals, a pivotal development in mathematics. Interestingly, the term “algorithm” is derived from his Latinized name, Algorismi, directly connecting it to his contributions.
Facts:
If you find robotics fascinating, thank Al-Jazari! This genius from the Golden Age of Islamic civilization not only discovered robotics but also laid the groundwork for automation that would later shape our everyday lives with his mechanical wonders.
Al-Jazari
Ismail Al-Jazari was a polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, artisan, artist and mathematician.’The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices’ is a medieval Arabic book written by Ismail al-Jazari in the 12th century. It describes over fifty mechanical devices and automata, including clocks, water-raising machines, musical automatons, and humanoid robots. Al-Jazari provides detailed instructions for constructing each device and includes anecdotes and historical references. The book had a significant influence on the development of European clockmaking and automata, and it offers insights into daily life and technological innovations in the Islamic world during the medieval period. It’s his book that influenced key concepts of modern day robotics.
Ismail al Jazari has been credited for having invented devices that were precursors to today’s robots.
Imagine a device that can do everything: Give you the time, your location, your horoscope, and even help you make decisions—all with the swipe of a hand. It’s overpriced, customizable and comes with a variety of bells and whistles. No, this isn’t the iPhone 7. It’s the astrolabe, a remarkably versatile tool that was used for centuries in European and Islamic cultures before being quietly overshadowed by newer technologies.
“The most significant individuals who constructed astrolabes are: Al-Farghani and Al-Ijliya Al-Astrulabi”
Al-Farghani
Al-Farghani (c. 820-after 861). An astronomer-astrologist he also supervised the building of a canal (the Great Nilometer) at Cairo. Legend has it that he made the canal too high at one end preventing water flow. He wrote about sundials, astronomy, the astrolabe, and commentaries on Ptolemy, but most of his writings are now lost. His surviving astronomical work, Elements, was translated into Latin twice, and was very popular.
Al-Ijliya Al-Astrulabi
The making of astrolabes, a branch of applied science of great status, was practiced by many include one woman from Aleppo (Syria), Mariam* “Al-Astrolabiya” Al-Ijliya (Al-‘Ijliyah bint al-‘Ijli al-Asturlabi), who followed her father’s profession and was employed at the court of Sayf al-Dawlah (333 H/944 CE-357/967), one of the powerful Hamdanid rulers in northern Syria who guarded the frontier with the Byzantine empire in the tenth century CE.
Ibn Haytham: The man behind the camera
Ibn Haytham was famous for possessing great influence in the fields of celestial physics, astronomy, optics and the science of perspective. (History of Islamic Philosophy, Henry Corbin)
In fact, this Muslim scientist was the first to explain the science behind our vision and explained, through his research, that vision occurs when light reflects from an object and then passes to one’s eyes. (Philosophy in the Islamic World, Peter Adamson)
Ibn al-Haytham (c. 965 – c. 1040) was the first to explain that vision occurs when light reflects off an object and passes to the eyes. This Muslim scientist, with significant influence in celestial physics, astronomy, optics, and perspective, pioneered the study of the science of vision.
His research, based on the camera obscura, a dark chamber, inspired and influenced great philosophers like Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci and Al Kindi. This technique uses a dark room or a small box with an opening for light, allowing it to travel in straight lines. Ibn Haytham’s contribution to this field played a crucial role in advancing our understanding of vision, influencing subsequent researchers and leaving a legacy that extends to the modern era of cameras, including those on smartphones that we use daily to capture moments.
Ibn Sina (ca. 970–1037) Avicenna was a famous physician, astronomer, philosopher, and thinker of the Golden Era of Muslims. He is very famous due to his work on medicines and cures of various diseases. wrote one of the most useful and famous books on medicine, called Al-Qanun Fi At-Tibb (meaning: the Canon of Medicine). His books on medicines were used to teaching students from the 11th century to the 17th century. Due to this reason, he is also referred to as the father of modern medicine.
In the field of medicine, the greatest contributions have come from the authoring of medical works and the invention of surgical instruments by: Ibn Sina, Zakariyya al-Razi and Al-Zahrawi.
Ibn Sina – Avicena
Ibn Sina (ca. 970–1037) Avicenna was a famous physician, astronomer, philosopher, and thinker of the Golden Era of Muslims. He is very famous due to his work on medicines and cures of various diseases. wrote one of the most useful and famous books on medicine, called Al-Qanun Fi At-Tibb (meaning: the Canon of Medicine). His books on medicines were used to teaching students from the 11th century to the 17th century. Due to this reason, he is also referred to as the father of modern medicine.
Al-Zahrawi –The father of modern surgery
Al-Zahwari (Albucasis) ( 936 AD 1013 AD) was a scholar, chemist and surgical genius. His treatise Kitab al Tasrif, The Method of Medicine, was a revolutionary 30-volume encyclopedia of medical knowledge.Al-Zahrawi illustrated pictures of each tool used in different operations to describe how to carry out each therapy process. More than 200 surgical tools were invented by Al-Zahrawi – a staggering achievement – and illustrated in the book, including a variety of scalpels, retractors, curettes, pincers, and specula as well as tools for his preferred cauterization and ligature techniques, and hooks with a double tip for use in surgery. His use of catgut for internal stitching is still practised in modern surgery – it appears to be the only natural substance capable of dissolving and is tolerated by our bodies.
Zakariyya al-Razi
Al Razi was quite generous and charitable for his patients, treating them in a quite humane manner, giving them treatment without charging them. In his latter years, he had cataract in both eyes and became blind. He died in Al Rayy on October 27, 925 at the age of 60 years. He wrote more than 224 books on various subjects. His most important work is the medical encyclopedia known as Al-Hawi fi al-Tibb, known in Europe as Liber Continens. His books in medicine, philosophy and alchemy had greatly effected the human civilization, especially in Europe.1 Some authors considered him the greatest Arabic-Islamic physician and one of the most famous known to humanity.
Scientists of the Islamic era engaged in multidisciplinary sciences, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, and astronomy. Some wrote poetry, while others excelled in philosophy and economics.
Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber)
Jabir ibn Hayyan (721–815 AD) is one of the most brilliant and intelligent scientists in the Golden Era of Muslims. He is famous for inventing various instruments for chemistry experiments, and he also performed many chemistry experiments himself. He found many new chemicals which include hydrochloric acid. Due to a lot of work in the field of chemistry, he is considered to be the founder of chemistry in the modern world. Jabir developed more than 20 kinds of chemistry lab equipment; most of them are also used today in the laboratories. Some of the lab equipment that he made are retort and Alembic. He developed a method of purifying substances by the process of crystallization.
Al-Kindi
Al-Kindi died in Baghdad, Iraq, in 873 A.D. Al-Kindi is often called the “father or Arab and Islamic philosophy.” This may be true and it is also necessary to mention he was a very accomplished mathematician and astronomer. The philosophy that he promoted has its origins in the world of ancient Greece. Al-Kindi continued the grand tradition of ancient Greek thinkers into his culture.Al-Kindi was not a man who was skilled solely in one area of learning or thought. He would gain great acclaim as a philosopher and his work was reflected in well over 250 books that he had written. Twelve of his books dealt with physics and 32 books dealt with geometry. Other books covered topics of medicine, philosophy, and logic.
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (1332 – 1406) was a statesman, diplomat, scholar, sociologist and judge. His masterpiece Muqaddimah “Introduction” also bears testimony to his skills in some other fields such as economy and poetry too. He is not only considered a philosopher of history but also the first one. Ibn Khaldun defined civilization as a “corporate social actor,” turning it into an individual discipline, and studied the behavior and reactions of civilizations under different circumstances. His economic opinions, apparently the most advanced of those expressed in medieval Islam, are to be found principally in The Muqaddimah, originally intended as an introduction to his history (Kitāb al-‘Ibar) of the Arab and Muslim world and its pre-Islamic antecedents. The Muqaddimah, initially completed in 1377, continued to be corrected or added to until shortly before the author’s death.
Ibn Rushd
Ibn Rushd, also known by his Latinized name Averroës ( 1126–1198), was an Al-Andalus a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Andalusian classical music theory, medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, and celestial mechanics. The 13th-century philosophical movement based on Averroes’ work is called Averroism. Ibn Rushd has been described as the “founding father of secular thought in Western Europe.” He tried to reconcile Aristotle’s system of thought with Islam. According to him, there is no conflict between religion and philosophy; rather they are different ways of reaching the same truth. He believed in the eternity of the universe. Ibn Ruhd also held that the soul is divided into two parts, one individual and one divine; while the individual soul is not eternal, all humans at the basic level share one and the same divine soul.
Who was al-Farabi: Muslim philosopher and musical theorist
Abu Nasr al-Farabi’s was born somewhere in central Asia around 878 CE . Farabi is most widely known for his commentaries on Aristotle and Plato’s works, which he published in his book, Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. The book includes summaries and interpretations of their works and goes into topics such as the origins of philosophy. Farabi was one of the first scholars of music to study the music of the Turkic people and one of the earliest to systematise the study of music with a system of common notations and rules to write down compositions and rhythms.
According to Farabi, the music of a particular culture allowed an academic to learn more about different peoples, as their particular nature and characteristics had an impact on their musical tastes.
Farabi died at the age of 80 in Damascus but his legacy inspired Muslim and Western scholars for centuries to come.
Abbas Ibn Firnas – the First Man to Fly and Live to Tell the Tale
Abbas Ibn Firnas (809/810 – 887 A.D.), In the context of aerospace, Abbas Ibn Firnas is an extraordinary reference point as the creator of the precursor to the parachute and for being the first person to successfully design, build and test artefacts that remained in flight. He did this six hundred years before Leonardo da Vinci developed his designs for flying machines, and more than a thousand years before the Wright brothers made their famous flight.
Years later, in 875, he designed a glider made of wood and silk (decorated with feathers from several different birds), and he launched himself with it from the La Arruzafa hills, near Cordoba. He was so sure that his invention would work that he had convened hundreds of people to watch along the route. Also present were many members of the court of Muhammad I, Emir of the Andalusi caliphate. The result was a sustained flight using air currents, which lasted anything between two and ten minutes (depending on the historical accounts used as reference). Despite a difficult landing, he not only survived but also became the first man to fly with a heavier-than-air machine.
Even using the most pessimistic figures for his flight, it was much longer in both time and distance to that achieved in 1903 by the Wright brothers.
Fatima al-Fihri
Fatima al-Fihri played a great role in the civilisation and culture in her community. . Scholars believe Fatima died sometime around 880 AD. We technically don’t know enough about her life to get a sense of her personality, but scholars believe that we can imagine, based on the legacy she left to humankind. Glacier writes that “one can sense some of her personal qualities, among which were probably generosity, intelligence, and clairvoyance.”
Fatima laid the foundation of universities as we know them today, thereby playing an integral part in the development of higher education. Today, the school is still in operation and offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, and this is all owed to the forward-thinking vision of one young woman.
The Golden Age of Islamic civilization is characterized not only by richness in the fields of science, mathematics, and art but also by the harmonious integration of science and religion. The development of science was encouraged and directed by the Quranic verse “Ikre!” (Read!), contributing to the creation of an environment where research and knowledge were considered morally upright and spiritual duties. This synthesis between religion and science contributed to fruitful creativity during that period.
“Prepared by Aziza M.”
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]]>The post Women who marked the year 2023 in Serbia appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>…that “we are at our best when we are at our worst” was finally annulled, as unfounded.
While the majority continued to observe their reality silently and from a “safe” distance, a few women took care of the future of the entire nation and made a historic step with their human and professional integrity.
The event which, after many years of collective apathy and indifference, started the awakening of the anesthetized society, but also the chain reaction of civil rebellion that has not subsided to this day, was recorded at the end of February. At that time, news about the arrest of several persons suspected of extracting money from a public company (EPS) spread across the country.
A significant part of the public was surprised to learn that the public prosecutor’s organization did not completely capitulate to the regime and interest groups close to it.
A cold shower, however, followed the very next day.
” The prosecutor who worked on the EPS case has been dismissed”, read the new news, which was soon “reinforced” with the latest information: “The second prosecutor who worked on the EPS case has also been dismissed”. Press releases from the High Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade were released almost simultaneously to the “demagnetized” public, with insulting explanations about how and why the acting prosecutors were replaced in such an important case, a day after they ordered and carried out the arrests.
Just when it seemed to them that everything was ready for a new deluge of collective apathetic indifference, from the complete eclipse of the shackled Serbian judiciary, a thunderous voice echoed: “That’s a lie!” Enough with the lies!” The tone soon took shape, and the public got the impression in “Utisk” that they were witnessing an unprecedented precedent and a step forward by brave professionals who refused to remain silent and participate in the organized destruction of the state and society. Thus, the prosecutors Bojana Savović and Jasmina Paunović became a symbol of resistance, evidence that there are still professionals in the prosecutor’s office who serve the law and the public interest.
The revenge of regime personnel in the judiciary, especially their direct manager Nenad Stefanović, was inevitable, but also powerless before the force of the public, which resolutely stood up for the protection of brave female prosecutors, and supported them with weeks of protests.
Soon, their colleague Milena Božović, who has been suffering constant persecution since Stefanović’s arrival as head of VJT, came forward in public. All three loudly revealed to the public what is happening in the most important prosecutor’s office in the country, who is stopping proceedings and representing party interests… Savović and Božović publicly signed “ProGlas” on the eve of the elections, and, to the delight of the citizens, together with the initiators, were speakers at the tribunes that were held throughout Serbia.
For almost a full year, they have suffered daily mobbing, aware that they are under the watchful eye of the regime’s emissaries, who tried in every way to compromise them in public, with the indispensable help of the tabloids. Unfortunately for them – unsuccessfully.
Marinika Tepić and Jelena Milošević, MPs from the “Serbia Against Settlements” list from the SSP, started a hunger strike, a day after the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, declared an irregular victory in the elections. Despite numerous attempts to dissuade them from striking, Tepić refused to take food for 13 days and her condition began to seriously deteriorate. No one from the government showed even the slightest empathy towards Tepić, who was not spared even malicious comments, which came from regime analysts on national frequencies.
“Instead of publicly mourning Marinika Tepić in advance, which, even if it was with the best intentions, humiliates her and her struggle, we can influence her fate by constantly letting everyone know what Marinika is doing to herself for the sake of Serbia, and then let’s, full and sleepy, every day, go out into the streets of our cities and fight for freedom”, said writer Marko Vidojković in the author’s text to all those who have not yet grasped the meaning, but also the gravity of Marinika’s move.
Danijela Grujić also joined the hunger strike at one point, she is the president of the City Committee of the Party of Freedom and Justice in Novi Sad and in the last convocation of the National Assembly, she was a deputy of the United parliamentary group.
Grujić was not on the list of “Serbia against violence” in the last elections, because she planned to return to teaching philosophy at school.
“Each of us in the existing circumstances, in this incredible theft, which we will only become aware of, must make the maximum effort to resist because if this passes, everything in this country can pass,” she said.
The May tragedies in “Vladislav Ribnikar” Elementary School and in the villages around Mladenovac also disturbed those citizens who believed in the sustainability of “microworlds” until these terrible events.
The so-called critical mass, for the first time after the October 5th changes, gathered again for weeks on the streets of Belgrade. Civil “awakening” then finally took place. The backbone of the gatherings became the fight against violence, systemically rooted in collective everyday life. Numerous public figures, actors, athletes, musicians… walked in endless columns of mourners.
No matter how massive the gatherings were, the image of one woman who was never absent was not promoted by citizens or television cameras. It was the character of the dowager of Serbian theater, who has been a member of every family and home in Serbia for decades – Svetlana Bojković.
Although she was socially engaged all her life, her contribution to the current fight against general social destruction is immeasurable. At an age when she should be peacefully enjoying everything she has achieved and accomplished, the adored Ceca chose to be on the streets with her fellow citizens.
Either to encourage them to get rid of fear and not give up the fight for their freedom, or to remind them that neither their country, the air, nor Serbia are for sale.
Her colleague Anita Mančić is also one of the most engaged actresses. She loudly shouted “No!” because of the continuous destruction of Belgrade, and a few days ago she led the protest “March for the Fair”.
Former rector of Belgrade University Prof. Dr. Ivanka Popović, as well as Prof. Dr. Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, are representatives of the academic community that initiated “ProGlas”.
Although the majority of their colleagues chose to observe current events from the sidelines, Popović and Džamonja Ignjatović engaged in an open struggle for the re-establishment of the value system and the restoration of dignity to educational institutions, professors, teachers, and students.
Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović was also the coordinator of the group engaged to provide psychological help after the May tragedies, and after she clearly said that she would not allow herself to be governed by daily politics, she was declared undesirable, both in expert circles and in the government team.
Zrenjanin high school sociology professor Senka Jankov was also targeted by the regime, she was suspended from her job because she called on students to support the May protests “Serbia against violence”.
Katarina Petrović from Valjevo came into the public spotlight after she was arrested and charged with abuse of office because she provided opposition politician Marinika Tepić with information about a traffic accident caused by the godfather of the President of Serbia, Nikola Petrović.
In the report she submitted, it was clearly stated that Petrović caused the accident on Dedinja while he was drunk and drugged.
Because of this, she ended up in custody, and then she was suspended from her job, while the prosecutor’s office in Valjevo initiated proceedings against her.
A journalist with a loop
Ivana Milosavljević, a student and the youngest member of the editorial staff of CINS, exposed the “SNS call center” which disposes of huge sums of money of unknown origin, as well as an organized criminal group engaged in buying votes, as part of progressive electoral engineering.
The research of Milosavljević, who infiltrated the “call center” and was ready to risk her safety for the sake of the truth, met with the enthusiasm of both the profession and fellow journalists, as well as a significant part of the public.
(Danas.rs)
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]]>The post FLY LIKE AN EAGLE: Slovenian flew 134 meters – VIDEO appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>…of four ski jumps.
New spectacular jump: The wonderful Slovenian flew 134 meters
After winning on Monday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Lanišek continues his good performances on the New Year’s tour.
In the Innsbruck qualifiers, he was convincingly the best with a jump of 134 meters, winning 130.1 points.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨!
Anze Lanisek qualifies in Innsbruck with a leading jump of 1⃣3⃣4⃣m #FourHills pic.twitter.com/2msQ0FExRr
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 2, 2024
Austrian Stefan Kraft was second with a short jump of 9.5 meters, receiving 127.1 points. The third was the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi with a jump of 129 meters and 122.2 points.
The competition at the third stop of the New Year’s tour is scheduled for Wednesday starting at 1:30 p.m. After the competition in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, German Andreas Wellinger is in the lead with 600.7 points ahead of Kobayashi (598.9) and Kraft (575.5).
After Innsbruck, the New Year’s Tour of Four Ski Jumps moves to Bischofshofen, where the last competition is on January 6.
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]]>The post 2024: Five big challenges for the EU appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>… the return of Donald Trump to power in the USA.
This is only part of the challenges that the European Union will face, writes DW.
EU members have repeatedly promised to support Ukraine as much as necessary since a Russian victory would threaten the security of Europe. Will the EU stick to that pledge next year as well?
There is currently a lot of talk in Brussels about the loss of solidarity and war fatigue. The European Union is making huge efforts to unanimously approve aid to Ukraine. The strategy according to which Ukraine is left to negotiate with Russia or not, may be called into question in 2024, writes DW.
“Our goal must be a lasting and just peace, not another frozen conflict,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Ukraine’s best path to stability and prosperity is membership in the European Union. For a Ukraine that is strengthening again, Europe is the answer.”
With that, Ursula von der Leyen is talking about a step that for many members goes too fast and too far. Brussels should start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova this year.
Membership in war-torn Ukraine would come at an enormous cost to the European Union. That is why even Ukraine’s great political friends, such as Poland or the Baltic states, began to fear such a scenario.
Those countries receive far more from Brussels than they pay, but with the admission of Ukraine, the situation could be reversed. Admittedly, the negotiations would begin, but until full membership, the agitated members would be calmed down by high officials of the Union for the past year, if not a decade.
The countries of the Western Balkans, which all want to become full members, and have spent two decades in the European waiting room, observe with displeasure the record speed with which the efforts of Ukraine and Moldova to secure EU membership are developing.
For Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia, specific dates of accession could be determined, among other things, to suppress Russian and Chinese influence in the Balkans.
For Serbia and Kosovo, those prospects are more modest because inter-ethnic conflict paralyzes overall progress. Bosnia and Herzegovina is struggling to overcome the status of a dysfunctional state. There, the conflict between the Bosnian Serbs and other nations, fueled by Russia, is the biggest obstacle.
Before accepting new members, the European Union must reform its decision-making processes and the way it is financed. Only a sovereign, economically strong Europe can offer “reception capacity” – that’s what French President Emmanuel Macron has been claiming for a long time.
And the German government proposed more majority decision-making instead of unanimity. Informed circles in Brussels are not sure what will become of such proposals. If unanimous reasoning is to be abolished, that decision must be made – unanimously.
In the past few years, the EU could not reason with Poland and Hungary, which recklessly used their veto. Due to the deficit in the rule of law, the procedure does not produce results. During the year 2024, the opponent of the European Union, Viktor Orbán, will continue to rule firmly in Hungary. There is hope in Poland, as former European Council President Donald Tusk, a pro-European politician, has taken the helm.
20 years ago, after the accession of eight Central and Eastern European countries, as well as the island states of Malta and Cyprus, the EU adopted the “Lisbon Treaties” with some hesitation.
To this day, they are the basis for the work of the union of states. Do those contracts need to be adjusted? That discussion will be more and more present during 2024.
If the radical Republican Donald Trump becomes the American president again, the European Union and the European part of NATO will face difficult times. The most important ally in supporting Ukraine and reining in Russia, as well as in trade matters, could fall away. To appease Trump, the EU could offer to finance military aid to Ukraine itself.
The German-American Chamber of Commerce expects that Donald Trump will introduce a whole series of punitive tariffs for Europeans. The European Union would have to do the same. Trade volume and economic growth would decrease. Would Trump further worsen bad relations with China, which is the most important trading partner of several European Union members?
At the beginning of June, 400 million citizens of the European Union with the right to vote will elect their representatives for the European Parliament. That’s in theory. In practice, about 200 million voters voted last time. The victory of the Christian Democrats is expected again, but also the growth of the radical right-wing and populists.
According to polls, the most important topic for citizens is their economic situation and standards. According to these polls, Ukraine, migration, Union reforms, and enlargement are of less importance in deciding who to vote for.
German politician Ursula von der Leyen is likely to remain president of the European Commission. The new convocation of the European Parliament would have to confirm her mandate, but she would be proposed by 27 heads of state and government.
In addition to these big challenges, the coming year also brings several important tasks for Brussels. The reform of the procedure for the granting of political asylum, which is being debated, should acquire the status of a binding law as the so-called migration package.
Likewise, the EU must formulate new rules for the budgetary borrowing of its members. A law is also needed to regulate artificial intelligence. New investments in green technology must be provided.
The European Union, in addition to the budget of 1.1 billion euros for the next seven years, will require an additional 66 billion euros. The members are resisting, and this is a potential conflict between the northern states, which give more to the budget, and the southern ones, which spend more.
All this does not occupy the citizens too much. According to polls, they believe that they have too little influence on decisions in Brussels, but despite this, they are optimistic when it comes to the future of the European Union. An average of 60 percent of respondents have this attitude.
The worst result was measured in a country that is one of the founders of the European Union – France. There are optimists below 50 percent, which is the lowest percentage in the entire European Union. The highest percentage of optimists was measured in Denmark – 86 percent.
And in Germany, 58 percent of respondents positively see the development of the European Union during the next year.
(Pobjeda)
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]]>The post From spoiled prince to New Denmark Crown King appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>The world’s only queen and Europe’s longest-serving monarch will abdicate on January 14, after 52 years of reign. She is leaving the throne, as she announced, to her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik.
As reported from the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, unlike British royal customs, there will be no official coronation ceremony. The assumption of the throne will be on the day when Frederik Andre Henrik Christian will become King of Denmark and head of state, which includes Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
A passionate campaigner for the environment, Crown Prince Frederik, who will turn 56 in May, has quietly imposed himself in the shadow of his very popular mother, advocating for Denmark and its desire to find solutions to the climate crisis.
When he was younger, Frederik was bothered by media attention and the knowledge that he would one day become king, claims Gite Reder, an expert on the Danish royal family.
Frederik blamed his parents for neglecting him because of their obligations. He sought solace in fast cars and a fast life, and the early nineties he gained a reputation as a spoiled and dissolute prince. It was considered someone who likes nightlife and parties.
The image of the heir to the throne began to change when he graduated from Aarhus University in 1995, as the first Danish royal to obtain a higher education.
During his studies, he also stayed at Harvard in the United States, where he was enrolled under the pseudonym Frederik Henriksen. This false surname was granted to his father, the French diplomat Henri di Monpiset, who became Prince Consort Henri when he married Margret.
Frederik began to mature during his training in the Danish army. He served in the Frogman Marine Corps, where he was nicknamed Pingo (Penguin) and was one of only four out of 300 recruits to pass all the tests in 1995.
In 2000, he participated in a four-month skiing expedition of 3,500 kilometers across Greenland. Because of this daring and adventurous spirit, he ended up in the hospital after a snowmobile accident.
On his 50th birthday, he started a running event in five Danish cities called the “Royal Run” in which he and his family members participated, as well as more than 70,000 Danes. The race has become traditional and was canceled only during the pandemic.
Crown Prince Frederik also established a foundation that provides financial assistance to students of political science, for one-year studies at Harvard, as well as financial support for scientific expeditions, especially in Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
“He is an athlete, attends concerts and football matches, which makes him more approachable than his mother,” Rederova described him in these words.
“I don’t want to lock myself in a castle. I want to be myself, a human being,” he once said, insisting that he would stick to that even after taking the throne.
Crown Prince Frederik speaks English, French, and German. With his wife Mary Donaldson, an Australian lawyer whom he met in a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics, he has four children, sons Christian and Vincent and daughters Isabella and Josephine.
(Antena M)
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]]>The post NATO REACTION: Poland raised F-16 fighter jets appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>…the heavy Russian bombing of the neighboring country.
“To guarantee the safety of Polish airspace, two pairs of F-16 fighters and an allied air tanker were activated,” the operational command of the Polish army announced.
On Tuesday morning, the Russian military carried out a new series of large-scale airstrikes against Ukraine, killing at least four civilians and injuring more than 90, mostly in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Poland, a NATO member, announced on Friday that its airspace had been violated by a Russian “cruise missile” that flew over its territory for three minutes, after which he went to Ukraine.
Polish civil and military authorities therefore held emergency meetings with NATO representatives and the Polish air defense system was put on alert.
A similar incident occurred in November 2022 when a Ukrainian missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, near the border with Ukraine, killing two civilians.
(TPortal)
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]]>The post Vladimir Putin: We will increase the strikes on Ukraine appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>…unprecedented weekend Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Belgorod.
Saturday’s Ukrainian attack, which killed 25 people including five children, came after Moscow launched a major assault on Ukrainian cities.
“We will intensify the strikes. No crime against civilians will go unpunished, that’s for sure,” Putin said during a visit to a military hospital.
He said that Russia will continue to target “military installations”.
“We are doing that today and we will continue it tomorrow,” announced Putin.
Meanwhile, Kyiv said Russia targeted the country with a “record” number of drones on New Year’s Day.
“What happened in Belgorod is a terrorist act,” Putin told wounded Russian soldiers sitting near him in hospital pajamas and face masks.
(Pobjeda)
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]]>The post The celebration of Republic of Srpska Day is being prepared appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>The organizers of the parade on the occasion of the unconstitutional Republic of Srpska Day announce the most spectacular celebration so far.
It will be held in Banja Luka on Trg Krajine, where 200 drones are planned.
The formal academy and the night parade will be held on January 8 and 9. After the parade, a concert will be held, and Danica Crnogorčević will perform the song “Za život Srpske”, and Baja Mali Knindža will perform a song about the RS, which will be performed for the first time by the Police Orchestra of the MUP of the Republic of Srpska.
As a reminder, High Representative Christian Schmidt said that the celebration of January 9 as the Day of the Republic of Srpska is a clear and direct failure to implement the final and binding decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the decision of the High Representative from July 1, 2023.
He warned that disobeying the decisions of the Constitutional Court constitutes a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It is up to the law enforcement authorities, the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, and the police, to take the appropriate next steps prescribed by law, especially in cases related to public officials and civil servants and their participation in the preparation or organization of the January 9 celebration.
“The rule of law is an indispensable prerequisite for a stable and prosperous future for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with communication, dialogue, and compromise. These should be the guiding principles in deciding on the celebration of Republic of Srpska Day, because only then will this be a holiday that all citizens to be able to accept and celebrate and which can strengthen the ties between the citizens of the RS, and not further divide them,” added the high representative.
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]]>The post War drama: ‘Get dressed, you’re going to Germany’ appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>Returning by car from Belgrade to Sarajevo, I saw what was happening and saw that the situation was serious. The battle line was ten kilometers from my house, Salihamidžić recalled
Hasan Salihamidžić (47) is currently out of office after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last year, where he spent six years as the club’s sporting director.
Salihamidžić is a legend of Bosnian football, and on January 1 he celebrated his 47th birthday and the New Year. On this occasion, he gave an interview to the German media where he talked about his childhood and earlier life.
– I was born in Mostar, the city where the famous bridge is located. I had a carefree childhood. My father was a policeman, my mother was a teacher, and I already wanted to become a soccer player. Yugoslavia was a country that functioned, it was good for us. We had a simple life, but we were happy. I started playing at the age of 8, my father, who was a second-league player, was my first coach.
The idyll in his childhood was interrupted by the beginning of the war.
– I played for the youth selections of Yugoslavia, after the match with the national team I had to return home, but there were no flights from Belgrade to Sarajevo. Returning by car, I saw what was happening and saw that the situation was serious. The battle line was ten kilometers from my house – Salihamidžić recalled.
One moment in particular was etched in his memory.
– After two months, my father came to me and said: ‘We have a Kalashnikov in the house and pistols, take them and go search the street.’ Then he told me to take my mother and sister to try to escape. As a 15-year-old, having a Kalashnikov under the bed is not normal.
His life turned upside down when his sister woke him up one day…
– One morning my sister woke me up and said: ‘Get dressed, you’re going to Germany.’ I told her that I wasn’t going. I didn’t want to be separated from my family, it was difficult. Nevertheless, I took a bus to Dortmund, from where I went to Hamburg, where I entered the Institute of Sports. I must say that it is true that those who dedicate themselves and work hard in Germany get a chance. And I took advantage of the opportunity I dreamed about so much, I managed to do it because I fought – concluded Salihamidžić.
(24 sata)
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]]>The post How to become an Online Business Expert, Sales, Success Coach appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>Spending a decade creating millions a year in sales for international companies, Crystal started her online business after a diagnosis of Stage IV endometriosis ended her career, and showed her what she wanted out of life.
Starting a company in her mother’s pantry, Crystal now works with online clients from stage absolute zero up to 7 figures – and has been in the sales coaching game for 18 years. She does not believe in starting at the bottom of any arena.
Amazon bestselling author and long-term digital nomad, Crystal holds the Guinness World Record for rickshaw cycling and has been featured on HBO, ABC, SBS, Elephant Journal, and Thrive Global. Crystal’s clients create multi-6-figure businesses and flexible, global lifestyles.
Crystal is a happily single mum now residing near the Amalfi Coast in Italy, and you’ll find her with espresso in hand and eating Italian pastries for breakfast.
It’s a coaching and consulting business for online entrepreneurs who adore travel and want to create independent income fast. We support clients in dozens of countries, ranging from millennials starting their first businesses to moms working at home with their little ones. What they have in common is that they want to avoid wasting their time in creating their entire dream lifestyle, and want to fund it with a successful online business.
Our focus is on creating world-class results incredibly quickly.
In 2012 I had been working for 10 years for a telecommunications company, making many millions in sales and managing big projects. I’d been unwell for a while, and suddenly surgery confirmed I had Stage IV endometriosis (the bad kind).
The doctors said I’d never have a baby, travel would be hard, I’d live with a colostomy bag and the hospital would be my regular home. At 28 this was pretty brutal since I’d sacrificed all of those things for a career I could not even now continue.
I lost my job, and my home, and from necessity started my business from my Mum’s pantry.
I used my first client payments to book a one-way ticket to Italy and became a global digital nomad for 6 years – ticking my bucket list and focusing on my physical and emotional health.
After breaking a world record on a rickshaw, making large amounts of money also finally made more sense to me. My business took off, I settled back in Italy, and then found out I was pregnant with my miracle son!
Now I teach those faster and more powerful processes for money-making and goal achievement through my programs.
Self-belief, Simplicity, and Speed are the only 3 skills you need.
We are growing incredibly fast, and our current goal is to change the financial experience of 500 more global women this year through my core program, High Income Digital Nomad. When one woman makes money, entire communities are positively affected.
Added to that, our values goals of koala adoptions, tree planting, and a diverse workforce are growing exponentially along with our client intakes.
High Income Digital Nomad is aiming to be the world’s leading company for travel lovers running borderless international businesses.
My brand is centered around becoming world-class using exactly what you already have – the very character traits, existing knowledge, and desires you currently possess.
Because of this, my work creates very fast results, getting bigger over time.
A great example is one of my clients, who was the first to join High Income Digital Nomad in its first run. She went from two years in network marketing with no return on investment, to a ten-client overnight sellout.
She sold that same program out several more times, quickly became a global name in her niche, became a three-time Amazon bestseller, and was published in Forbes.
Together just finished a launch that created 53k euro in a week.
The reason this happens is that the same principles we take clients through from the beginning, apply to every level of scaling and business.
We are direct, and fast, and don’t waste time on slow approaches (funnels being the usual culprit).
Selling the things I thought I had to.
When I first started I did web design, graphic design, and other things I wasn’t good at or qualified for, because I thought that’s what people did online. Understanding that the online space has room for my skills at a high ticket price was a huge mindset shift I needed to make.
I made it too complicated: The truth is that people pay for simplicity. They want something very simple solved, and it’s usually much more basic than we first believe. One of the best programs I ever bought was another entrepreneur who simply offered to call me every day for 30 days and tell me how amazing I am. This solved a self-belief issue and I paid a high ticket price happily. Your clients want it simple. It’s going to start basic. Strip it all back and it moves faster.
I fuddled around with funnels: If you’re not making money, who cares where you host your courses? If you’re not making money, how do you even know what opt-in to create? I raised that when I stopped the “washing machine” of confusion around all the options and looked with the eyes of opportunity, it was really obvious what I could do for people. Instead of setting up platforms, I sold a program that didn’t need any of that. That’s when I increased my income tenfold and made a liveable wage from my online business.
Funnels do not make sense until you’re scaling. For your first 100k, all you need is a clear head to see the opportunities, and the courage to charge properly.
My marketing approach is incredibly simple.
I have a rule about “not moving the goals posts” – so I start all decisions with the goal I want to achieve. Instead of changing my goals, I am committed to hitting them no matter what, and using my creativity in marketing to achieve it.
I start each day with the question “What’s the smartest and fastest way to get a client today?”.
My marketing decisions stem from that.
This works, because the answer would never be “let’s build a funnel” or “let’s create an opt-in” – the answers are always related to how I can build a deeper relationship with a prospect or be brave enough to pitch someone I know is a perfect fit.
Marketing is simply relationships, and relationships don’t come from machines. They come from conversations, vulnerability, and courage.
The ways to do that are infinite – maybe today it’s a post, maybe it’s direct outreach, maybe it’s a video. When I am connected with my goal, I get to be creative in the moment with the marketing.
By treating each incoming client as a real person, marketing becomes obvious and almost instant to convert to sales – as long as I ask people to buy every day!
My biggest challenges happened when having a baby who didn’t sleep, experiencing separation, living in a foreign country without a support network, and needing to run my business in less than 30 minutes a day.
One of the ways I did this was by adjusting my private coaching program – so that instead of live calls (that I couldn’t physically take), I started doing WhatsApp coaching, where I could respond in voice notes. This got my clients bigger results than ever and allowed me to keep making money despite the challenges.
I’d create a high-ticket group program immediately based on a combo of what people needed (which you can learn to identify super fast when you remove the confusion!), what I was excellent at, and how it was easiest for me to deliver.
I’d sell it for $2k-$5k per client, run it live the first time (so no prep except notes), record it, and scale it.
That would have taken me to my first 6 figures in a fraction of the time.
FGFunnels: We just made the move to this, after a long search for a platform that did what we needed and fit our values.
Women-owned, BLM supporting and anti-bro marketing with gorgeous templates, this has been a perfect fit for us.
Canva – Woman-founded and super functional, this has saved me hours and dollars and is also an inspiring story of a woman’s small company becoming a tech billionaire against the big boys. We still do all our graphics and workbooks here.
Book: Never Lose a Customer Again, Joey Coleman.
This book outlines a timeless and human-focused approach to caring about your customers – not just grabbing the sale and running. My company is based on making people feel incredibly valued, and we use the 8 steps in this book to structure and assess our success by valuing our client base. For this reason, we have above an 80% re-sign rate for customers into other products.
Podcast: Hello 7 with Rachel Rodgers
Rachel is a badass and powerhouse, and her podcast gives incredible insights for scaling into the millions (my company’s current goal). With topics on investing, diversity, money mindset, and more, I never miss an episode.
Course: Unlimited Abundance with Christie Marie Sheldon
I have been using this as my daily mindset work for literally years. I listened to this even while riding the rickshaw to break the world record, and I make money, without fail, every time I listen! The expansion into new ways of thinking about all the ways money can arrive in our world and the infinite possibilities for creating it ourselves has brought me countless results, both personal and business.
I’d pay myself my first wage.
I’d use that to book a luxury space, have a massage, enjoy local food, and expand myself into the idea that I could truly have this experience as my regular lifestyle. (An important step in breaking the poverty mindset so money flows).
Ready with an open mind, I’d sit down to work and 10x my money.
Assess what people are saying they need right now in my community, write up a Google Doc of a program addressing that need, and sell it for $2k-$5k. I would run it live, and record it.
When that money had multiplied, I’d hire an excellent coach. I’d hire a team to help me make it better, and double down on what was working to scale fast.
As a celebration of this big win, I’d buy a trip to Paris!
I love the thrill of my clients succeeding. When I feel stale, I look to my next client, and I see how far I truly think they could go. Then I step back into my part of the work and see how I need to expand as their coach/consultant to support them in getting there.
This is how I keep moving forward and pushing my boundaries as a service provider. This motivation creates exponential results because when my clients succeed more as a result of my inner work, I receive more clients as a result.
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”
– Madam CJ Walker
Don’t waste time with funnels. Fill a need and charge properly for it. The rest is a confusing waste of time.
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]]>The post Drink Warm Water Honey Lemon Every Morning – Why? appeared first on The Balkantimes Press.
]]>I drank warm honey lemon water every day for a year and saw a mega change in my body.
Here’s what I learned, plus my honey lemon water recipe and the health benefits of drinking it.
Until a few years ago, honey and lemon drinks were something I bought in a packet from the chemist when in the death throes of a full-blown flu.
Naturally, those little packets didn’t help much, so I was skeptical when I started this whole crazy challenge.
Of course, drinking real lemon juice and proper honey in warm water is a different experience, and with all the hype around it, I embarked on a 12-month quest to see if it was as miraculous as the trend says.
I am pleased to report I am thoroughly converted, and here is why.
1. I have not had a cold, flu, or gastro illness in the entire year.
Literally. On reflection, this blows my mind. All of my life I’ve been a serial tonsillitis-getter, and always seemed to pick up whatever was going around. With a large family, including lots of little ones, there is always someone around who has the latest bug. I am happy to report I no longer catch them, even when they rip through the rest of the gang.
Confession: there were days I skipped totally, and though I have felt very early signs of sickness sometimes (too many sneezes in a day, run down, extra tired, suspicious tummy rumblings) nothing at all has materialized. Sure I’ve had tired days and a few headaches, but nothing to write home about.
As soon as I got back on the regime these stopped happening, and I now absolutely swear by honey/lemon—to the point I‘ve become prematurely old-aged and carry them both in my bag when I stay at friend’s places or hotels. (Should I be worried I’m also proud of this?)
2. I no longer need coffee and have become a (gasp!) morning person.
The zing I get from lemon and honey first thing in the morning has become something I crave and doesn’t leave me with headaches or the dreaded caffeine comedown. I also have more energy for longer and am quicker to smile in the a.m.
It used to take me at least an hour to open my second eye and stop grunting at people like a cavewoman, but I’m now annoying the people who love me in new and wonderful ways like throwing deep philosophical questions at them as I bound into the kitchen. I’ll need to find a new challenge soon though if I am to keep them on their toes.
3. The people around me are becoming more healthy—the biggest reward.
So this has taken the longest: to convince my family that honey and lemon can help them prevent some of their man-flu incidents.
But after playing nurse and administering my magic potion to them when they are at their most desperate, they can finally see its benefits. “Whoa! That helped straight away!” never gets old and reminds me to keep going every morning so I don’t suffer the indignities of needing to be three feet from a toilet at all times, or running through a box of tissues an hour.
It’s such a lovely feeling to know that I can help my loved ones feel better through something so simple and available. I have become some kind of one-trick uber-nurse, and that’s awesome.
I generally use the juice of half a fresh lemon, and a decent teaspoon of organic, raw unheated honey in a standard mug with freshly boiled water that has cooled a little (but still hot enough to melt the honey). I then add a splash of cold so I can drink immediately in one go to rehydrate me as soon as I wake.
BONUS TIPS: It does depend on the lemon and the honey, some lemons are juicier or more sour and some honeys more sweet, so experimenting is important! Also, half a lemon may be too intense to start, my family uses a quarter. Proper honey and healthily grown lemons are the key. As well as a big handbag to carry them everywhere.
Why does it work? Well, according to websites thehealthsite.com and Underground Health, there are at least nine major benefits to drinking warm honey lemon water every morning. But I’ll list my favorites here:
This mixture when taken first thing in the morning stimulates the digestive system, as well as hydrates the colon and more, and honey lemon water keeps constipation at bay. It also acts as a diuretic, cleansing the urinary tract and ensuring no urinary tract infections. I can certainly verify this one!
Every part of this drink aids in the digestive process; lemons assist your liver in producing more bile so you can break down complex foods better and use the good stuff from your meals. Honey is antibacterial which protects you from any infections you might have. It also helps with the production of mucus in the stomach, helping to flush out toxins. For this reason, it also assists with healthy weight balance.
Lemon has many benefits for the skin, but it also helps purify the blood as well as aids in the production of new blood cells that act as cleaning agents. The water and honey create a restorative, antibacterial, and collagen-boosting powerhouse for your skin too.
So there you have it, my verdict is overwhelmingly positive and I highly, thoroughly recommend it. Plus it’s freakin’ delicious.
Disclaimer: I have become incredibly fussy about which honey and which lemons I use, and can see that makes all the difference. I am blessed to live in the pristine Tasmania, Australia where I source raw, unheated honey and organic lemons from the trees of my neighbors. When I am desperate and resort to supermarket lemons and honey, the result is not the same (it just tastes like fake sugary lemony yumminess).
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