Early Bird: France is fighting against radical Islam. SpaceX explosion. PUMA and Neymar joined forces

France has passed a law against radical Islam

Open in gallery (5)

Five years after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, the French cabinet approved a bill aimed at combating radical Islam. It tightens the rules for home education or hate speech, among other things. The law represents the culmination of a long-term effort by President Emmanuel Macron and his team. A number of critics in France and abroad claim that this is discrimination against Islam. However, the ruling officials believe that the law will, on the contrary, protect ordinary Muslims who have long been suffering due to the radicals. The law provides state authorities with effective tools against hate speech on the Internet and the misuse of personal data in cyberspace. It also prohibits the promotion of Islamist ideology or the wearing of religious clothing in swimming pools or markets. The controversial point is that the new law would also ban authorities from issuing residency papers to polygamous applicants.

The Czech Republic invests billions in research and development

Open in gallery (5)

Over the last three years, the Czech state has supported research and development with an amount exceeding 100 billion crowns. Almost half (44%) of this amount went to universities. The institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic received 28% and private companies another 10 percent of the total amount. In relation to the share of state aid in gross domestic product, the Czech Republic adheres to the European Union average. The largest part of last year's state budget expenditures on research and development went to general and non-oriented research. The state has released more than 4 billion crowns in the field of healthcare.

Luxusní byt 4+kk na prodej se zahrádkou, Praha, Praha 7

Show property

"Last year, state budget expenditures on research and development reached 36 billion crowns. They have increased by more than five billion in the last two years. However, their share in the state budget in this period has fallen from 2.4% in 2017 to last year's 2.3%,"

Martin Mana, director of the CZSO's development statistics department, commented on the data.

Luxusní byt 4+kk na prodej se zahrádkou, Praha, Praha 7

Show property

SpaceX's prototype Starship spacecraft exploded on landing

Open in gallery (5)

The explosion occurred after an otherwise successful test launch from the company's rocket facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The whole event was broadcast live. The Starship rocket destroyed in the accident was a 16-storey-tall prototype for the heavy-lift launch vehicle being developed by Musk’s private space company to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.The test flight had been intended to reach an altitude of 12,500 metres, propelled by three newly developed Raptor engines. The company's founder, Elon Musk, commented on the incident on his Twitter. He said that the rocket’s fuel header tank pressure was low during descent, causing touchdown velocity to be high.

The pandemic reduced noise in the ocean

Open in gallery (5)

Much has been written about the beneficial effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the animal kingdom. Another positive consequence of the current global situation seems to be the reduction of the so-called ocean noise. Restrictions on maritime traffic have been a great relief for whales, dolphins and other oceanic creatures. Scientists claim that animals have last experienced a similar "silence" in the ocean about 200 years ago. Today, most of the man-made noise below the surface comes from the growl of ship propellers and the air guns used when searching for oil and gas deposits.

"The pandemic that has put restriction on people and narrowed their living space has, on the contrary, increased the area in which whales can roam. I am fortunate to be able to study whale communication in natural tranquility during my life time,"

Christine Gabriele, a biologist from the Glacier Bay National Park, said at a press conference.

Neymar Jr. and PUMA introduced a new collaboration

Open in gallery (5)

In August of this year, Brazilian football player Neymar Jr. ended his cooperation with Nike after fifteen years. Now we can admire the first fruits of his new partnership with PUMA. Thanks to a grandiose contract, the Brazilian football superstar should earn more than $ 30 million a year (roughly 650 million crowns). A new PUMA KING Platinum shoe with the Neymar logo was introduced already in October, but it's only now that soccer boots that resonate with Neymar's temperament are about to hit the market. The extravagant FUTURE Z model catches the eye at first glance. It is characterized by the marketing slogan "Drive them crazy".

In addition to sophisticated design, the developers have naturally focused on features important to football players. The shoes make movement on the lawn perfectly easy, while maximizing one's control over the soccer ball. The accompanying collection of jerseys, shorts, training accessories and casual clothes is dominated by the element of graffiti that can be found in the streets of São Paulo. You can buy the FUTURE Z 1.1. soccer boots on the PUMA website for a little bit over 5,000 Czech crowns.

That's all from us for now. Enjoy this day to the fullest and don't hide your feelings. Jan Werich already knew that:

"Laughter and tears are the most valuable possessions of a living person."