The Countries Most And Least Accepting Of Migrants

 

How the European Map Has Changed Over 2,400 Years

 

How the European Map Has Changed Over 2,400 Years

The history of Europe is breathtakingly complex. While there are rare exceptions like Andorra and Portugal, which have had remarkably static borders for hundreds of years, jurisdiction over portions of the continent’s landmass have changed hands innumerable times.

Today’s video comes to us from YouTube channel Cottereau, and it shows the evolution of European map borders starting from 400 BC. Empires rise and fall, invasions sweep across the continent, and modern countries slowly begin to take shape (with the added bonus of an extremely dramatic instrumental).

Below are nine highlights and catalysts that shifted the dividing lines of the European map:

146 BC – A Year of Conquest

146 BC was a year of conquest and expansion for the Roman Republic. The fall of Carthage left the Romans in control of territory in North Africa, and the ransack and destruction of the Greek city-state of Corinth also kickstarted an era of Roman influence in that region. These decisive victories paved the way for the Roman Empire’s eventual domination of the Mediterranean.

117 AD – Peak Roman Empire

The peak of the Roman Empire is one of the more dramatic moments shown on this animated European map. At its height, under Trajan, the Roman Empire was a colossal 1.7 million square miles (quite a feat in an era without motorized vehicles and modern communication tools). This enormous empire remained mostly intact until 395, when it was irreparably split into Eastern and Western regions.

370 AD – The Arrival of the Huns

Spurred on by severe drought conditions in Central Asia, the Huns reached Europe and found a Roman Empire weakened by currency debasement, economic instability, overspending, and increasing incursions from rivals along its borders.

The Huns waged their first attack on the Eastern Roman Empire in 395, but it was not until half a century later—under the leadership of Attila the Hun—that hordes pushed deeper into Europe, sacking and razing cities along the way. The Romans would later get their revenge when they attacked the quarreling Goths and Huns, bouncing the latter out of Central Europe.

1241 – The Mongol Invasion of Europe

In the mid-13th century, the “Golden Horde” led by grandsons of Genghis Khan, roared into Russia and Eastern Europe sacking cities along the way. Facing invasion from formidable Mongol forces, central European princes temporarily placed their regional conflicts aside to defend their territory. Though the Mongols were slowly pushed eastward, they loomed large on the fringes of Europe until almost the 16th century.

1362 – Lithuania

Today, Lithuania is one of Europe’s smallest countries, but at its peak in the middle ages, it was one of the largest states on the continent. A pivotal moment for Lithuania came after a decisive win at the Battle of Blue Waters. This victory stifled the expansion of the Golden Horde, and brought present-day Ukraine into its sphere of influence.

1648 – Kleinstaaterei

The end of the Holy Roman Empire highlights the extreme territorial fragmentation in Germany and neighboring regions, in an era referred to as Kleinstaaterei.

Even as coherent nation states formed around it, the Holy Roman Empire and its remnants wouldn’t coalesce until Germany rose from the wreckage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. Unification helped position Germany as a major power, and by 1900 the country had the largest economy in Europe.

1919 – The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire—a fixture in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years—was in its waning years by the beginning of the 20th century. The empire had ceded territory in two costly wars with Italy and Balkan states, and by the time the dust cleared on WWI, the borders of the newly minted nation of Turkey began at the furthest edge of continental Europe.

1942 – Expanding and Contracting Germany

At the furthest extent of Axis territory in World War II, Germany and Italy controlled a vast portion of continental Europe. The map below shows occupied land and areas of influence at the height of Germany’s territorial expansion.

After the war, Germany again became fragmented into occupation zones—this time, overseen by the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Germany would not be made whole again until 1990, when a weakening Soviet Union loosened its grip on East Germany.

1991 – Soviet Dissolution

In the decades following WWII, the political boundaries of the European map remained relatively stable—that is, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Almost overnight, the country’s entire western border splintered into independent nations. When the dust settled, there were 15 breakaway republics, six of which were in Europe.

https://cutt.ly/n5GJ0Ks

10 Best Foods You Must Eat During in Travel Europe

 With so many countries packed together with an excellent transportation network, travel in Europe has to be one of the easiest things. Apart from the fantastic architecture and history, Europe welcomes you with a stunning range of food. This continent offers a whole bucket list of foods that are worth a shot.

If this is your first visit, you might wonder about the European foods you should try. Well, here’s a list of the 10 best foods in Europe that you cannot miss out on.

However, ensure that you always follow the various Covid-19 guidelines at all the different locations you visit in Europe.

Pierogi in Poland

Although Poland is a beautiful place and has a lot to offer to your travel in Europe, eating pierogi here should be a top priority. Little dumplings filled with whatever you can imagine, from potatoes, cheese and meat, you can get all you want.

Most commonly served with sour cream, fried onion or pork, pierogi is a significant tourist attraction in Poland. Moreover, if you’re a person with a sweet tooth, you can still have a pierogi for the sugar craving. Dessert pierogi is very popular, and it comes filled with fruits and sweet cheese.

Kanelbullar in Sweden

Get ready to forget the cinnamon buns you’ve ever had because kanelbullar in Sweden is about to give them a tough competition. Kanelbullar translates to cinnamon bread, but better than anything you’ve had before. All that you can do with your cinnamon bun, Sweden does it better.

Kanelbullars are the chewier, softer and more buttery versions of cinnabuns. These sweet knots of yumminess are best enjoyed fresh, hot out of the oven. You’re likely to smell a Swedish bakery down the street from blocks away.

Chicken paprikash in Hungary

Slowly stewed chicken in a rich and creamy paprika sauce, and a dash of sour cream at the end tastes like nothing short of heaven. This Hungarian dish is often served with a side of nokedli, a form of pasta-dumpling hybrid.

Mekitsi in Bulgaria

This resembles a flat doughnut. The disc consists of deep-fried dough and is served alongside fruits, yoghurt and powdered sugar. Mekitsi is a portion of prevalent breakfast food in Europe.

Lakror in Albania

This dish might seem to be somewhere in between Turkey’s borek and spanakopita from Greece. The lakror in Albania is made of buttery, flaky puff pastry stuffed with a mixture of spinach, leek, egg and yoghurt.

It is one of the ancient meals in Europe which kids associate with their grandmothers. However, Lakror also makes up for a prevalent European food, especially in the mountain city of Korçë. You can also find this dish throughout the country at local bakeries.

Bryndza in Slovakia

Apart from tourism, one of the major industries in the northern mountainous regions of Slovakia is sheep. One of the commonly used items in Slovakian dishes and something that ties them together is bryndza. This is a form of sheep cheese and is one of the main components of most Slovakian meals.

Bryndza is also eaten alongside egg and toast or just by the spoonful. You cannot miss out on Slovakia’s national dish, which is their version of cheesy gnocchi-Bryndzové halušky.

Moussaka in Greece

This mushy looking, messy and oozy dish might not look the best, but the taste is entirely on a different level. Moussaka is made of layers of ground lamb filled between slices of eggplant.

Currywurst in Germany

German sausages have a reputation worldwide, but currywurst has beaten even the sausages in the race. This is one of the best foods in Europe, mostly enjoyed with alcohol on a drinking night out with friends.

Currywurst includes chopped up sausages mixed with curry powder and served with a side of fries and ketchup. Although the combination might not sound great, the flavours and the textures of this dish somehow work together to give your taste buds a joyful explosion.

Waffles in Belgium

There is a waffle for every occasion, whether it is a busy interview day, a celebration or just one of those days that doesn’t feel right. A warm, sweet, crispy treat can make your day. Although touristy places serve waffles with a side of whipped cream and syrup, the best is to have waffles with just a hint of icing sugar.

Raclette in Switzerland

If you’re a cheese lover, you’ve come to the right place as raclette is named after Swiss cheese. It is either melted on the girdle or off the rind and served with potatoes or bread. Usually, raclette is topped off with fried onions or pickles and eaten as street food on the go.

Unfortunately, the variety of cuisines has to offer cannot be covered in an article or a trip. You will have to follow your instincts to find what you love on this continent.

https://bit.ly/302OaxJ

Sherlock in Health: How artificial intelligence may improve quality and efficiency, whilst reducing healthcare costs in Europe

Summary

Various megatrends are impacting healthcare systems in Europe, creating a scenario where artificial intelligence based technologies could be deployed for the benefit of all stakeholders. Converging of these trends, such as, aging of the population in the region, the resulting high cost of healthcare, coupled with patients becoming more demanding and value-focused, is creating a situation where technology can help in improving healthcare access, quality and affordability. It is not hard to imagine a future with intelligent technologies helping us diagnose diseases faster, and assisting doctors in treatment decisions, armed with evidence based analysis of likely outcomes.

AI is increasingly becoming a part of the healthcare ecosystem. Some of the applications developed, though in early stages, are having an impact across care pathways, starting at prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and recovery. At this stage, it is very important to analyse the demand and potential benefits from AI applications in healthcare in Europe. This will not only help us distinguish between realistic hopes and unrealistic hypes, but will also help in focusing our efforts in the right areas.

Analysing demand and potential benefits throughout healthcare is very complex and many factors come into play. We looked into three care pathways as a representation of both the benefits that might accrue from AI use in healthcare and the medical dilemma’s it will create. We estimate that large-scale AI use could yield benefits of the following magnitude.

•     For childhood obesity: AI use could yield cost saving of up to EUR 90 billion over the next ten years. This saving estimate includes benefits from lower medical costs, and reduced losses from lower productivity and sick days. AI could also help in increasing the efficiency of self-monitoring for preventing obesity.

•     For diagnosis of dementia: AI use could help save up to EUR 8 billion in diagnosis cost over the next ten years, largely driven by increased rate of diagnosis at primary care level. AI can help diagnose with up to 90 percent accuracy, bringing it to a large proportion of dementia patients who never receive a formal diagnosis.

•     For diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer: AI use for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer could be very helpful in early detection, also helping in treatment decision making and reducing doctors’ direct engagement in potentially repetitive tasks. It could help save up to EUR 74 billon over the next ten years, if used on a large scale.

However, achieving these benefits will not be easy. Various challenges exist, such as lack of sufficient data, enabling data standards and regulations. According to various experts we interviewed, technical, legal and financial feasibility of adopting AI will be critical. Equally important, will be to assess the psychological feasibility – is the public actually ready and receptive to AI adoption in health? Based on our analysis

of constraints and interviews with industry experts, we make three recommendations to help improve technology-driven healthcare services in Europe.

•     Introducing a balanced scorecard in policy making will ensure that the focus is not restricted to any one policy area, such as: improving the quality of healthcare; containing the cost of care; or managing overall population health.

•     Moving quickly and consistently on regulations will ensure that the vision on AI within the healthcare industry is matched and supported by timely regulations.

•     Redefining reimbursements to support outcome based care will alleviate any payer related concerns for providers and patients, providing the much needed development boost to AI tools.

Introduction

Access to quality and affordable healthcare is a challenge that is growing every day. Increasing demand and increasing scarcity of health care personnel has put pressure on healthcare delivery, which is in constant need of optimisation. According to data collected from several EU nations, medical errors and healthcare related adverse events occur in eight to twelve percent of hospitalisations. Preventing such mistakes could help to prevent more than 3.2 million days of hospitalisation each year within the EU1.

Technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and the availability of big data present the promise of reducing such errors, whilst making healthcare more accessible and affordable. Artificial intelligence will not completely replace physicians and care workers, but it can play a key role in reducing the pressure on healthcare systems and be a decision supporting tool for physicians.

In this paper we assess the healthcare landscape2 in Europe3 and its readiness for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. We also estimate the probable benefits of using AI applications in healthcare, based on three different but interrelated dimensions: potential cost savings to patients; rise in efficiencies in healthcare services; and the increase in accessibility of healthcare services. Furthermore we analyse three conditions and associated care pathways:

•    Prevention of childhood obesity;

•    Diagnosis of dementia; and

•    Diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

Based on the analysis, we identify some major challenges and the following steps needed, in order to begin moving to large-scale AI adoption and advanced healthcare.

1    http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Health-systems/patient-safety/data-and-statistics

2    AI will have an impact on all health related fields including healthcare services, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences. For this study, we are only looking at the potential impact on healthcare

3    The geographical scope of the study covers Europe. Interviews have been conducted in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands

Indo-European Language Tree

The genetic map of Europe