Contents
The EU and the US have introduced new restrictions against Russian officials. European retailers will have to refurbish sold merchandise to reduce litter. And by 2030, consumers will be willing to pay for a service without robots.
Topics of the week
- New Western sanctions
The European Union and the United States continued the policy of sanctions against our country in connection with the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. Moscow promises a “proportionate response.” On March 2, the European Union imposed personal sanctions: TFR Chairman Alexander Bastrykin, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, head of the National Guard Viktor Zolotov and director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Kalashnikov were banned from entering the EU, their assets were frozen, and European citizens and firms were not allowed to enter into transactions with them. Washington denies Moscow any assistance, except for urgent humanitarian aid, and prohibits the export of defense technology to Russia. Under the new package of US sanctions were departments and organizations that may be involved in poisoning or associated with chemical production, including several research centers of the Ministry of Defense.
“We consider the actions of the EU as another missed opportunity to abandon the dead-end policy of ultimatums, pressure and move towards equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in relations with Russia,” said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Bundestag deputies criticized the imposition of new sanctions, saying that by doing so “the EU discredits itself as a serious diplomatic partner.” And the Chinese Foreign Ministry called interference in the internal affairs of our country unacceptable. The ruble began to fall at the beginning of the week amid discussions of sanctions, but when the lists of restrictions were announced officially, the Russian currency strengthened sharply.
- Teacher vs. TikTok
The Investigative Committee responded to videos on the social network TikTok, which contained calls for the mass suicide of teenagers on March 3. Now the UK intends to identify bloggers who are involved in the distribution of these videos. For preventive purposes, information was disseminated among the parents of schoolchildren through the press service of the Department of Education and School Administration. Teachers of Moscow schools made mailings in messenger chats and asked parents to pay more attention to the behavior of teenagers.
The TikTok developer announced that he was removing suspicious content and blocking hashtags under which users could spread calls for suicide.
“When the police get to these freaks, it’s one thing when you sit on the Internet and such a cool Rimbaud pushes some girl or boy to jump from the roof, builds a whole concept, leading to this. As soon as the police came in, he piled up his pants in the truest sense of the word, ”said Vladimir Putin, President of our country.
In Europe, TikTok is assembling its own Content Safety Council. It will include experts on child mental health and extremism. The social network developer will consult with the Content Moderation Board. In January of this year, TikTok faced the unfortunate consequences of an out-of-control teenage flash mob. In Italy, one of its participants died of asphyxiation. At the request of the local data protection authority DPA, the platform had to verify all Italian users in order to block those who were not yet 13 years old.
News of the week
- In February 2021, Bitcoin miners generated a record $1,36 billion in revenue.
- Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has announced a raffle for eight seats on a SpaceX starship on his private mission around the Moon in 2023.
- Royal Caribbean is resuming sea cruises for residents of Israel, where almost half of the population is vaccinated against the coronavirus.
- Rostourism will develop the Russian version of the standards for all inclusive hotels.
- By the end of 2021, the Moscow metro will start paying for travel using the Face Pay facial recognition system.
- Moscow is testing “smart” trash cans that can be controlled from a smartphone.
Study of the week
Japanese advertising agency Dentsu predicts that in the next ten years, the development of society will be associated with artificial possibilities (synthetic society) – chips to improve memory and exoskeletons for new human physical abilities.
Bioengineering will be the source of a new type of social inequality. As is the case with any innovation, the additional capabilities of the human brain and body will initially be available only to wealthy people.
Against the background of automation and robotization, purely human abilities, such as compassion or imagination, will receive special value. Dentsu calls this trend the “human dividend”.
“Human” service will become premium by 2030. Society will be more dependent on technology, but at the same time seek a break from it. Consumers will even want to pay for the option not to use automation and robots.
Source: Dentsu
Week numbers
- In our country, almost 20% fewer books were published in a year
Only two publishing houses from the TOP-10 were able to increase the total circulation – both specialize in children’s literature.
- Levada Center: 64% of our countries consider coronavirus a new form of biological weapon
At the same time, 56% of survey participants are not afraid of contracting the coronavirus.
- A third of young Britons are addicted to smartphones
A quarter of Brits aged 18-30 use a smartphone for at least three hours a day, and 19% use their smartphone for more than five hours, according to a study by King’s College. Among volunteers who reported being addicted to a mobile phone, 69% suffered from sleep disorders.
How businesses and governments reduce waste
Plus-one.ru talks about how companies in our country are implementing sustainable development plans. So, since 2021, Garnier has been producing all the packaging of the Fructis brand from 100% recycled plastic. And Unilever is committed to making all packaging recyclable within the next five years. X5 Retail Group installs refill stations in supermarkets, where customers fill reusable containers with household chemicals on their own. And the Baltika company transfers plastic waste for recycling, building materials are produced from it.
In the European Union, sellers of household appliances have been obliged to repair sold devices in order to reduce electronic waste. Stores will have to guarantee the availability of spare parts for the equipment they sell and service it for ten years. Environmentalists have long accused manufacturers of designing “planned obsolescence” devices to meet demand for new products. Every European generates more than 16 kg of e-waste every year and about half comes from household appliances. Only 40% of this waste is recycled. The new rules will affect refrigerators, washing machines, televisions and smaller appliances sold since March 1.
What to read
- Interview with the head of the REO company, which oversees the waste reform in our country
Denis Butsaev returned to the leadership of the Russian Environmental Operator. In a conversation with him, he said that they would not pass on to the population all investment costs for the development of infrastructure for the treatment of MSW. Manufacturers of goods and packaging will be required to invest. The main problems of the industry that REO should deal with are the lack of capacities for MSW disposal and the unattractiveness of the industry for investment.
- Author’s column of the founder of the service “Scooter” Rodion Shishkov
The entrepreneur reflects on how retail has changed and how it will change. He is confident that hyperlocality and the ability to revise strategies at lightning speed will save retail.
“Retail solves its short-term tasks and does not think about careful attitude to the resources of its audience. Very soon, retailers will learn how to solve both their own long-term tasks and those of their customers. Such companies will get the most long-term relationships with their audience. Customers will understand that the retailer is no longer their enemy, but an ally. All players will be forced to move in this direction,” Rodion Shishkov, founder of the Samokat service
What to see
- Ekaterina Shulman’s monologue on how attitudes towards ecology are changing in our country
Political scientist and publicist Ekaterina Shulman talks about what environmental fears are not justified today, how to distinguish commercial lobbying from true concern for nature, and what legislative initiatives cause environmentalists and the public to fear.
- Master class on effective business correspondence from Maxim Ilyakhov
The author of the books “Write, Reduce” and “Clear, Understandable” talks about how to effectively conduct business correspondence. Ilyakhov explains how to arrange the text, how to formulate a question and how to describe the problem so that the letter does not go unanswered, and the problem does not go unanswered.
What to listen
- Digital Newsroom Podcast, episode “Career growth and whether it needs a plan”
The guest of the podcast is Inna Anisimova, founder and head of the PR Partner communication agency. Inna talks about her career development experience and what to do when her business has grown to a million turnover, but you want a billion. This issue contains the answer to the eternal question, is it possible to combine a successful job, three children and your own hobbies.
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