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Voor een optimale ervaring met deze website is het aan te raden om over te stappen naar een modernere verie of installeer Google Chrome Frame On 30 April 2025, Centre Européen de Musique (CEM) and Europa Nostra are pleased to host the conference ‘Music Now placed under the High Patronage of the President of the Portuguese Republic The event is organised in partnership with the Municipality of Mafra acting as coordinator of the Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Lisbon View of the Mafra National Palace and Basilica Taking place at the iconic Mafra National Palace this hybrid event highlights the transformative power of music to foster peace and stability amid today’s challenging European and global contexts Musica Nostra!’ is a call to fully harness the potential of music – not only as a science and a transcendent force but also as a much-needed bridge between human aspirations and global solutions “Music and heritage are the cornerstone of European identity Music is the soul of Europe and the bridge between tangible and intangible heritage an affiliated partner of the European Heritage Hub project Musica Nostra!’ conference will feature addresses by high-level representatives from national and local authorities It will also serve as the occasion to launch an initiative report by the European Parliament on the role and significance of music in Europe Panel discussions will explore music as an element of European identity and a key resource in addressing the triple transformation of our society – green The event will conclude with the launch of the ‘Music Now followed by cultural visits and musical performances The Programme can be found here.  This conference is part of a four-day event (29 April-2 May) organised by CEM and CEM Portugal: 20 Apr 2025 14:30:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Maritimo won 2–0 over Mafra on Sun Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match The current head to head record for the teams are Maritimo 2 win(s) Have scored 7 goals in their last 5 matches 20 Apr 2025 14:30:00 GMT?Maritimo won 2–0 over Mafra on Sun 20 Apr 2025 14:30:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 5 goals in their last 5 matches Maritimo is playing home against Mafra on Sun In a press briefing issued in January 2025 the Korean Peasant Women’s Association (KPWA) reported that the national government has effectively lowered its food self-sufficiency target raising concerns about its commitment to improving self-sufficiency According to the recently released “2024 Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) Statistical Yearbook,” the food self-sufficiency rate for 2023 was 49% a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from the previous year (49.4%) with concerns that it could fall below 40% the self-sufficiency rates for rice (99.1%) and total grains (including feed) (22.2%) were all lower than the previous year MAFRA’s recently submitted “First Basic Plan for the Public Income Stabilization Program (2025-2029)” sets a goal of achieving a 55.5% food self-sufficiency rate by 2029 This represents a setback from the previous plan MAFRA explained this change as being due to the ongoing reduction in farmland Recent statistics show a loss of 16,000 hectares of farmland in 2023 bringing the total farmland area to 1.51 million hectares The government’s failure to prioritize farmland preservation which is critical to food self-sufficiency has led to the revision of key targets in the agricultural policy plan The more significant issue is that even the new target seems unachievable There is no comprehensive plan or effective policy measures in place to preserve farmland MAFRA’s earlier “Mid- to Long-Term Food Security Enhancement Plan,” which promised to maintain 1.5 million hectares of farmland for food security Article sourced from KPL website (ijunnong.net) and nongmin.com This post is also available in Español and Français Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) will expand support for young people in terms of farming the MAFRA has been carrying out the first basic plan for nurturing succeeding farmers and young farmers for the years 2023–2027 to help young people start their lives in farming the MAFRA announced the direction for the policy for young people working in farming and rural areas the MAFRA expanded the range of support recipients from young farmers to young people working in farming The MAFRA has been carrying out the project to help young people settle in rural areas as farmers financial support of a maximum of KRW 1.1 million per month is provided for young farmers for a maximum of three years young farmers receiving such financial support were allowed to engage in non-farming work activities only in the off-season for farming to ensure that they could concentrate on farming the period of such non-farming work activities during the off-season for farming will be expanded from three to five months per year to help young farmers achieve income stability Non-farming short-term work activities for young farmers will also be expanded from less than 60 to 100 hours per month As for young farmers who are required to continue to engage in farming during the period of their receipt of the government's financial support after the financial support has expired non-farming work activities will be allowed without limitation as long as they continue to engage in farming activities The MAFRA has been running a fund for nurturing succeeding farmers to provide support for them to take out a loan for farmland and facilities Application for the loan support required an annual income earned through non-farming work activities not to exceed KRW 37 million this regulation has been lifted so that succeeding farmers can receive such financial support regardless of their income levels coming from non-farming work activities a farmer's annual income earned through non-farming work activities was limited to less than KRW 37 million and a farmer was required to engage in farming as a full-time worker the eligibility for application was limited to the head of a household but has been expanded to include family members The MAFRA has been implementing the "rural convergence industry certification" program under which a certified business entity of the rural convergence industry can receive financial and promotional support from the government such support under the program will be expanded to go to start a business using a wide range of resources in rural areas such as abandoned rural facilities and spaces The MAFRA will also hold a competition for innovative rural business ideas an award will be given to innovative business ideas of using tangible and intangible rural resources and the government's financial and promotional support will be provided for such ideas to develop into a real business The MAFRA will also build 10 more rental house complexes this year A rental house complex is composed of 30 houses exclusive for young people returning to farming and rural areas and newlyweds residing in rural areas will provide support in terms of education on starting a business Young entrepreneurs will also be given preferential treatment of taking precedence over other people in entering and using business incubation facilities and R&D support facilities Source: MAFRA Frontpage photo: © Dragoscondrea | Dreamstime FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com Neil MacFarlane’s side played a back four which consisted of Benjamin Fredrick and Conor McManus as full-backs with Josh Stephenson and Benjamin Arthur as the two centre-backs Max Dickov and Ben Krauhaus made up the central midfield positions whilst Isaac Holland Ethan Laidlaw and Kyreece Lisbie formed a front three Marfa made a good start to the game with Marley Tavaziva called into action inside the opening minute when first-team player Matos broke through The young Bees dealt with the early pressure well and enjoyed some good spells of possession in the opening 20 minutes Brentford were forced to be patient with their play with Marfa utilising a deep block and aiming to hit the Bees on the counter Lisbie thought he had broken through the Mafra backline when a clipped pass from Owen found the in-form forward Despite all of Brentford’s dominance on the ball it was Mafra who took the lead on the half-hour mark with Matos netting from close range Mafra doubled their lead early in the second half with Matos adding his second of the game Brentford responded well with Holland producing a good piece of skill to beat his man on the edge of the area before seeing a shot blocked by a defender, Holland was causing problems down Brentford’s right flank and with Ethan Brierley and Iwan Morgan’s introduction to the game Brentford kept pressing Mafra’s backline as the side looked for a route back into the game Brierley delivered a great cross into the box on 68 minutes that was just out of the reach of Morgan MacFarlane’s side were as dominant as they had been all game with the side creating their best chance for Morgan the move started down Brentford’s right channel when Holland got in behind the Mafra defence before delivering a perfect cross to Morgan but the striker’s effort from close range was saved well by Mark Ugboh Mafra had a great chance to wrap the game up on the counter Tiago Trindade was one on one with Tavaziva but the goalkeeper stretched his body well to keep his side in the game with a smart save Brentford had one last chance before full-time with a well-worked corner falling to Lisbie but he dragged his shot just wide of the post Neil MacFarlane praised his side despite falling to a 2-0 loss to CD Mafra U23s "I’m really happy with the performance especially in the second half," said MacFarlane “We had countless opportunities to score but it just didn’t fall for us today "Our attitude and application is first-class It just didn’t fall for us but I’ve got no complaints." With regulatory support for cultivated meat ramping up in South Korea the country’s first centre dedicated to cell-cultured foods is opening in Uiseong-gun The 2,660 sq m Food Tech Research Support Center is slated to open in 2027 and backed by public investment to the tune of ₩14.5B ($9.9M) with the rest of the funds deployed by the local North Gyeongsang and Uiseong-gun governments Based in Uiseong-gun’s Bio Valley General Industrial Complex the project was announced after the county was selected in the cell-cultured food field in the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs’s (MAFRA) competition for the construction of food tech R&D centres It will help companies develop their processes and is the latest move positioning South Korea as one of Asia’s future food leaders “The new facility is one of several set up by the MAFRA designed to ramp up development of food technology,” explains Mirte Gosker managing director of alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC “Understanding that future food development is big business Uiseong County submitted a successful bid to MAFRA to host this new facility as a means of boosting its local economy,” she tells Green Queen called cellular agriculture “an innovative solution for the sustainable future food industry” “The establishment of a core infrastructure at the Food Tech Research Support Center will serve as an opportunity for Gyeongbuk to leap to the center of the Korean food tech industry,” he noted The Food Tech Research Support Center plans to build a cellular agriculture system that can produce up to 100kg of cultivated meat per year It will be run by the Gyeongbuk Technopark providing mass cultivation equipment and prototype production facilities safety evaluation and licensing assistance and infrastructure for the full-cycle industrialisation of cultivated food products According to Korean publication Gyeongbuk Ilbo 11 companies have expressed their intention to move into the centre Yeungnam University and the Animal Cell Proof-of-Sale Support Center are partner institutions “Other collaborations are under discussion with research institutions like the K-Bio CMO Center,” says Gosker, while potential partnerships with large corporations and initiatives like the World FoodTech Council are on the cards aswell These collaborations are also aimed at promoting the AI-based discovery of materials derived from natural products and the quality control of cell-cultured production The new facility is part of the province’s plans to develop the local economy by becoming a food tech leader It has established a production facility for culture media including cell-culture materials and equipment manufacturing Further, the local government plans to launch consumer awareness initiatives aimed at normalising and popularising cultivated meat. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has established a framework for regulatory approval of these proteins and polling shows that 90% of Koreans are willing to try cultivated meat and two in five are in favour of it being sold at supermarkets and restaurants similar food tech support centres have been established in Iksan Jeollabuk-do (for alternative foods) and Naju And in November, leading food tech organisations signed a deal to advance market research and knowledge exchanges increase policy coordination for novel food regulation and increase awareness about alternative protein innovation “As part of its mission to improve food system stability and efficiency MAFRA has been stepping up its strategic investments into emerging food technologies like cultivated meat,” says Gosker “These investments will further enhance what is already one of the world’s most advanced tech ecosystems which includes 10 biotechnology innovation and manufacturing clusters around 40 companies working across the alt protein value chain and major multinational corporations like Samsung Biologics Add to that the world’s highest number of scientific researchers per capita and South Korea is well-positioned to be a global powerhouse for cellular agriculture.” GFI identified South Korea as one of the places to watch for regulatory progress in this field in 2025 “Our experts believe it’s a safe assumption that this will happen in 2025 possibly in the first half of the year,” reveals Gosker “Korean cultivated meat startup CellMEAT submitted its application for regulatory approval in early 2024 and the review process is expected to take around 270 working days (roughly one year),” she says the first product approval could theoretically come any day now.” This, she adds, would “trigger a cascade of additional applications”, similar to what regulators have experienced in Singapore and the US (which just cleared its third cultivated meat product for sale) Seoul-based startup Simple Planet previously indicated to Green Queen that it aims to obtain the regulatory greenlight for its cultivated meat this year as well “No individual country can reimagine the global protein supply – but a network of Asian R&D hubs working collaboratively to accelerate future-food development and manufacturing very well could,” says Gosker “Korea is a central player in turning that dream into reality alongside other established foodtech leaders like Japan She continues: “If this regional coalition works together to supercharge scientific research leverage each country’s supply-chain strengths and rapidly increase regulatory knowledge-sharing the combined impact will be far greater than the sum of its parts.” Green Queen is an editorially-driven media publication. Over 98% of our content is editorial and independent. Paid posts are clearly marked as such: look for 'This is a Green Queen Partner Post' at the bottom of the page. News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology 11-Mar-2025 Last updated on 11-Mar-2025 at 03:28 GMT According to MAFRA Minister Song Miryung, stabilisation is the ministry’s priority for 2025 in light of the current global macroeconomic environment. “Food and agriculture are areas that have a direct impact on the livelihood of the South Korean people, so government policies are crucial to help household economies recover [amidst these challenging times],” she said via a formal statement. “As such, this year we will prioritise the stabilisation of local household economies and implement intensive efforts to address challenges facing both consumers and farmers, which will be a main focus in the first half of the year.” One of the major areas of focus is supply management in order to ensure that consumers will not need to face any form of food shortage in the coming year. “An important area here is to reduce food waste, and to this end MAFRA will introduce controlled atmosphere storage (CA) technology locally to extend the storage period of fresh foods, such as lengthening the storage of kimchi cabbages from two months to three months,” she said. “This will be useful to increase local supplies of major vegetables through contract farming; and we will also create an ‘overseas development model’ to ensure that vegetables can be imported in a timely manner if required. “MAFRA also has plans to revamp the system to sell and distribute Hanwoo beef and related products, introduce a new grading system in the second half of the year, as well as increase the online trading volumes of livestock products up to KRW280bn (US$195.7mn). “This supply management will be focused on 10 major food items that have a significant impact for consumers: kimchi cabbages, radishes, garlic, onions, apples, pears, hanwoo (Korean beef), pork, chicken, and eggs.” In addition to stabilising the local food system, MAFRA is also prioritising food exports to various key markets with a particular emphasis on 10 key items. “The plan is to expand export markets for K-Food Plus (food + agriculture + all related industries in the supply chain e.g. digitalisation, farming, pet food, etc.) by targeting the Middle East and the Republic of South Africa, as well as small and medium cities in the U.S., China, and Japan,” she added. “In particular, we plan to focus on 10 major export items including paprika, grapes, strawberries, pears, ginseng, kimchi, ramyeon, processed rice-based foods, biscuits and confectionery, and beverages. “Initiatives by MAFRA will include providing support for the production of high-end versions of items like grapes and strawberries, and the development of new products like the processed rice products.” The ministry is also changing the structure of the local rice industry to prevent overproduction, increase high-quality rice, promote the consumption of rice and requiring rice products to be labelled with protein content for consumer awareness. The 2025 Work Plan also includes a number of protective schemes to ensure both food producers and consumers receive the aid and protection they need to stay safe. “We are introducing various improvements to our agricultural crop disaster insurance programme, to expand coverage against more new disasters such as damage by harmful insects and diseases, lack of sunlight and more,” said the ministry. “Insurance protection of four kinds of fruit trees against ‘comprehensive’ dangers such as natural disasters, damage caused by birds and animals, fire and so on will be strengthened as well. “For consumers, MAFRA will be expanding the local food safety net particularly in terms of the agri-food products voucher programme which is targeted at the households receiving public support. “These include pregnant women, new mothers, newborns, infants, and toddlers. “There will also be an expansion of the 1,000-won (US$0.70) breakfast project under which high-quality breakfasts made with rice and rice-based products is provided for undergraduates to promote rice consumption and reduce their financial burden.” Juicing it up: Sun-damaged ‘ugly pears’ in South Korea given lifeline through upcycling18-Feb-2025By Hui Ling DangThe Korean Pears Cooperative Union processes “ugly pears” with high sugar content into juice, creating new revenue-generating opportunities for farmers and quality products for consumers. South Korea to prioritise food safety information and visibility in new e-labelling regulations10-Feb-2025By Pearly NeoSouth Korea will prioritise food safety information such as expiry dates and allergens in labelling regulations, while also mandating firms to use e-labels for non-essential information. Biscuits & Cookies: How can dark cocoa and chocolate help capture untapped market potential?Paid for and in partnership with Cargill The ‘invisible aroma’: The pastry chefs shaping next-gen vanilla Paid for and content provided by Takasago The rise of dairy butter equivalents: A ‘scalable future-proof’ solutionPaid for and content provided by Bunge The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve World Heritage partnerships for conservation Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development Our Partners Donate Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information. The Royal Building of Mafra consists of a Palace, which integrates a Basilica, with its axial frontispiece uniting the King and the Queen wings, a Convent, the Cerco Garden and a Hunting Park (Tapada). It represents one of the most magnificent works undertaken by King João V, who had exceptional cultural and economic conditions that allowed him to stand out among other European monarchies as a powerful sovereign of a vast multicontinental empire. Beginning with the choice of the architect Johann Friedrich Ludwig, a Swabian with training in Rome - this project symbolised an international affirmation of the Portuguese ruling dynasty. The ongoing fascination experienced by the monarch for the Rome of the great popes in the Baroque period led him to commission the work of important artists for Mafra, which ultimately became one of the most relevant sites of Italian Baroque outside Italy. The Hunting Park (Tapada) was created in 1747 as a private hunting ground for the monarch, as well as for agriculture and livestock breeding, in order to serve the needs of the Palace and the Convent. In late 19th century and in the beginning of the following century, the Hunting Park was the privileged stage for the hunting parties of King Carlos I, who went as far as to build a pavilion, within the approximately 1,200 hectares that make up this property. Altogether, the Royal Building of Mafra with the Cerco Garden and the Tapada offer a rare and almost complete example of baroque estate comprising a multifunctional palace, a formal garden and a Tapada, which have been elsewhere lost. The Royal Building of Mafra is classified as a National Monument by a Decree issued on January 10th 1907, published in the Governmental Journal no. 14 of January 17th 1907, Decree of June 16th 1910, published in the Governmental Journal 1st series, no. 136, of June 23th 1910. The General Directorate for Cultural Heritage was established by Law Decree n. 115/2012: its mission is to oversee the implementation of the protection and guarantee the management, safeguarding, conservation and restoration of protected cultural properties in Portugal. The National Palace of Mafra, as a museum, is also subject to the provisions of the Museum Framework Law n. 47/2004 and enjoys a Safety Plan, a compulsory instrument according to the law. The Tapada is subject also to the provisions of Law Decree n. 151-B/2013 and subsequent modification, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Forest management plan approved in 2014. Moreover, a conservation programme, including definition of clear priorities and sources of funding, should be developed by the responsible managing institutions. A conservation plan for the Cerco Garden should be also developed by the Municipality. 14 Apr 2025 19:15:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Mafra won 4–2 over Penafiel on Mon The current head to head record for the teams are Mafra 4 win(s) Have scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches 14 Apr 2025 19:15:00 GMT?Mafra won 4–2 over Penafiel on Mon 14 Apr 2025 19:15:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Mafra is playing home against Penafiel on Mon 09 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Mafra vs Chaves on Sun Have scored 5 goals in their last 5 matches 09 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT?Mafra vs Chaves on Sun 09 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT ended in a 0–0 tie.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Mafra is playing home against Chaves on Sun 06 Apr 2025 13:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Academico Viseu won 3–1 over Mafra on Sun The current head to head record for the teams are Academico Viseu 5 win(s) Who won between Academico Viseu and Mafra on Sun 06 Apr 2025 13:00:00 GMT?Academico Viseu won 3–1 over Mafra on Sun 06 Apr 2025 13:00:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Academico Viseu is playing home against Mafra on Sun 16 Mar 2025 14:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Uniao de Leiria won 3–1 over Mafra on Sun The current head to head record for the teams are Uniao de Leiria 0 win(s) Have scored 1 goals in their last 5 matches Haven't scored in their last 2 matches Who won between Uniao de Leiria and Mafra on Sun 16 Mar 2025 14:00:00 GMT?Uniao de Leiria won 3–1 over Mafra on Sun 16 Mar 2025 14:00:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 6 goals in their last 5 matches Uniao de Leiria is playing home against Mafra on Sun 09 Mar 2025 11:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Mafra vs FC Porto B on Sun The current head to head record for the teams are Mafra 6 win(s) Have scored 6 goals in their last 5 matches Who won between Mafra and FC Porto B on Sun 09 Mar 2025 11:00:00 GMT?Mafra vs FC Porto B on Sun 09 Mar 2025 11:00:00 GMT ended in a 0–0 tie.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Mafra is playing home against FC Porto B on Sun following a nomination by the Centro Nacional de Cultura Following a mission by Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute in October 2014, the European experts put forward a technical and financial report in March 2015 which underlined the need and justification for the rehabilitation project and supported the approach adopted The highlighting of the project by the 7 Most Endangered programme helped prioritise the project among the public authorities The conservation programme had a total cost of 1.7 million euros and was almost entirely financed by the Ministry of Culture of Portugal I applaud the work that has been done to restore the carillons and save this UNESCO World Heritage for future generations enjoy the great musical heritage of Europe through the crisp clear and gentle sounds of the bronze bells (…) I am so happy that these magnificent carillons will now join the six pipe organs in making Mafra a mecca for music lovers especially with the opening of the National Museum of Music in the Palace,” stated Plácido Domingo in his message which was read by Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins Trustee of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation on behalf of both Europa Nostra and the Centro Nacional de Cultural Maestro Domingo vividly recalled his participation in an exceptional concert with the six pipe organs in the Basilica in 2012 during the Europa Nostra Congress in Lisbon we had the unique opportunity of enjoying the magnificent sound created by the six pipe organs of the Basilica of the Mafra National Palace The concert was an incomparable musical storm and the majestic music flowed over me and the other listeners like a grand melodic wave the restoration of the pipe organs had just been awarded the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award and I was so thrilled to be able to listen to the end result It was a truly magical moment for me and all other music and heritage enthusiasts” The two towers of the Basilica of the Mafra National Palace feature a unique set of 119 cast bronze bells Due to lack of maintenance in the case of the northern-tower the wooden structures that support the bells had been at risk of collapse threatening the integrity of the towers and of the monument itself The bells had also been in a very poor condition The conservation work was carried out between May 2018 and December 2019 Most of the carillon bells were lowered to the ground and stored or moved to the repair shop The south tower carillon is fully operational The north tower carillon – which has never been altered and therefore provides a rare example of the sound of bell-performance in its original tuning condition – was restored but kept as a museum piece The large liturgical bells and the 12-tonne clock bells were also secured and stabilised Nigerian striker Stanley Iheanacho has taken a big step in his young career signing a five-year contract with Portuguese second-tier side CD Mafra The 19-year-old joins the club from Danish club FC Midtjylland, where he impressed in the youth team despite not making any senior appearance Iheanacho expressed his enthusiasm about the move citing the talented young players at CD Mafra and his eagerness to contribute Super Eagles of Nigeria star Kelechi Iheanacho shows off style at wedding and I'm excited to start the season and develop my skills further." The Nigerian began his football journey at FC Hearts Academy before moving to FC Midtjylland last year His impressive tally of 19 goals in 30 matches for the youth team including a stunning four-goal haul in a league cup game It is that time of the year again as PulseSports30 returns to celebrate the best Nigerian players of the 2023/2024 season The arrival of Stanley Iheanacho is a positive development for both the player and the club CD Mafra hopes to leverage his goal-scoring potential while Iheanacho has the opportunity to establish himself as a vital part of the team and propel them towards their goals in the Portuguese league Iheanacho will now join his new teammates for pre-season training as they gear up for their league opener against Paços Ferreira on August 8th Former champion has hailed Evra ahead of his MMA debut Paris Saint-Germain's top scoring forward is a doubt for the Champions League semi-final second leg clash against Arsenal FIFA has relegated one African club over match-fixing allegations Time and where to watch Nigeria's Efe Ajagba take on Congo's Martin Bakole in a fight for African boxing king Time and where to watch Flying Eagles of Nigeria's 2nd U20 AFCON group game against Young Atlas Lions of Morocco Former England player who rejected the chance to represent the Nigerian national team now wants to replace Eric Chelle See what fans are saying about the robbery of Nigerian boxer Efe Ajagba against Congolese star Martin Bakole as Battle of Africa ends in a draw Artificial intelligence weighs in on the speculations surrounding Victor Osimhen's future Former Super Eagles defender Taye Taiwo has advised Inter Milan on what they need to do to defeat Barcelona on Tuesday Ex-Besiktas midfielder Sinan Engin claims that Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has treated Victor Osimhen unfairly Arsenal Wenger previewed Arsenal's upcoming UCL second leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes Ahmed Musa will captain the Nigeria Super Eagles at the Unity Cup in London later this month leading the team against Ghana and other nations Arsenal celebrate 26 years since Super Eagles legend Nwankwo Kanu’s unforgettable solo goal against Tottenham in the 1999 North London Derby A former Fenerbahce player has urged the team to sack Jose Mourinho Athletics great Usain Bolt arranged a front three of GOATS here is everything to know about Trent Alexander-Arnold's life and career After serving an entertaining goal-fest in the first leg Inter and Barcelona will go head-to-head at San Siro to book a place in the Champions League final With Trent Alexander-Arnold departing Liverpool is he the Premier League's greatest full-back of all time Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold announced his departure from the Reds today which has led to a lot of reactions on social media Moises Caicedo has expressed his pride and gratitude after being named Chelsea's Player of the Season by his teammates and the supporters An in-depth report has divulged the inside story of Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid Sampaoli has compared Mbappe's mentality to Ronaldo FIFA president has openly declared support for his favourite team ahead of the UCL semifinal clash The wooden Rococo bookshelves of the grand Mafra Palace Library hold some 36,000 leather-bound volumes dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries Book-eating pests would pose a great threat to these old tomes were it not for the inch-long bats who patrol the library at night the magnificent Palace of Mafra immediately staked its claim as one of the national treasures of Portuguese architecture And within the palace sits an equally impressive library The 280-foot long Rococo-style library is a fitting home for the thousands of valuable old volumes that line the wooden bookshelves and other insects can wreak havoc on their delicate pages Most libraries control such pests with ethylene oxide but the Mafra Palace Library has a very special force of airborne defenders: bats a colony of bats sleeps behind the bookcases or out in the palace garden hunting down the very pests that would otherwise chomp through the pages of the library’s precious collection This nocturnal feasting has been going on for centuries perhaps as far back as the creation of the library itself do come with one disadvantage: the copious covering of droppings they expend upon the floors library workers cover the furniture before they leave and spend their mornings carefully cleaning the marble floors to erase all evidence of the previous night’s excreta The Atlas Obscura Podcast is a short, daily celebration of all the world's strange and wondrous places. Check out this episode about the Mafra Palace Library bats. The Mafra Palace Library is open to researchers, historians, and scholars “whose object of study justifies the access to this collection,” as stated by the palace website. A previous appointment is recommended. Because the bats only hunt at night, you’re unlikely to see them during visiting hours. The library's opening hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. These flying foxes dangle from the trees around the library like fuzzy black fruit. The canine-themed book collection claims to be Europe's largest dog library. A former church transformed into a public library. A monument to the Turkish librarian who delivered books on the back of a donkey. An ordinary rancher stumbled upon one of the world’s largest collections of Pliocene horse fossils. View roughly 7,000 books amassed over decades by the author and avid bibliophile. The oldest civic library in Italy can trace its foundation back to 1619. The sump of the landlocked Carson River is a haven for wildlife. 31 Mar 2025 19:15:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Mafra won 1–0 over Felgueiras 1932 on Mon The current head to head record for the teams are Mafra 0 win(s) Who won between Mafra and Felgueiras 1932 on Mon 31 Mar 2025 19:15:00 GMT?Mafra won 1–0 over Felgueiras 1932 on Mon 31 Mar 2025 19:15:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 2 goals in their last 5 matches Mafra is playing home against Felgueiras 1932 on Mon according to a Reuters witness.Other fires were raging elsewhere in Portugal including in the central municipality of Ourem where flames destroyed thousands of hectares two weeks ago More than 1,000 firefighters were mobilised across the country.Like other European nations Portugal experienced a scorching heatwave in recent weeks with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) in various parts of the country temperatures are climbing again.Weather agency IPMA said three districts in northern Portugal would be on "red alert" for extreme heat on Monday.Reporting by Catarina Demony Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Weekends at his family’s farms in Southern Brazil where he played with animals are the childhood memories Agenor Mafra-Neto holds dear He was just a boy when he realized an indiscriminate use of pesticides did more harm than good on land he felt called to protect This awakening put Mafra-Neto on a path to create alternatives for crop protection that were safer for the planet by becoming an acclaimed entomologist and chemical ecologist. All roads led to Riverside where Mafra-Neto founded ISCA Technologies in 1996 It’s a green biotech company that produces the next generation of environmentally sustainable insect controls “Riverside was built on agriculture with a growing economy already in place,” Mafra-Neto said on head-quartering there at a time when he could have gone anywhere  Agenor Mafra-Neto working to control the nutcase bearer ISCA means “lure” in Portuguese — fitting because the company uses pheromones and other naturally occurring compounds called semiochemicals to manipulate the behavior of animals by steering them off course ISCA products repel insects such as bark beetles away from trees of value and tell honeybees where to pollinate based on those semiochemical cues “We trick everything from tiny insects to huge elephants into doing what we want before they become a problem,” Mafra-Neto said “What we’re developing here in Riverside is changing agriculture globally.” there is a deadly conflict between elephants and people because the large land animals will hop fences to feed on farmers’ crops such as sugar cane ISCA developed formulations with bee alarm pheromones to spray fences to safely repel elephants after discovering they wouldn’t go near something believed to be teeming with bees “It’s inspiring to see ISCA answer the call and meet the need with life-changing technology from Riverside to the rest of the world,” said Mafra-Neto said he considers the city an inimitable partner When ISCA needed a wet lab to develop formulations ISCA spread the love by turning the new lab space into an incubator to help startups within the sector Fascinating work has emerged from the ventures including extraction of materials from exotic plants to fight depression and cancer The companies that do well in Riverside incentivize others to stay and grow here,” Mafra-Neto said ISCA is undoubtedly one of the success stories with subsidiaries in 10 countries and substantial sales in 30 markets worldwide ISCA employs 40 people in high-paying roles “The intellectual capacity we have here is tremendous,” said Mafra-Neto referring to recruiting from Riverside’s critical mass of higher education Agenor Mafra-Neto harvesting cotton from Brazil “ISCA has made a tremendous impact on transforming Riverside into a biotech landing spot,” said “How many opportunities do you have in a lifetime to shape the future of an industry and a city?” Mafra-Neto contemplated while vowing to help Riverside grow For information about ISCA Technologies, go to www.isca.com This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) announced on August 26 that it will send a delegation of 15 Korean companies specialising in exporting agricultural equipment to Vietnam from August 26-31 to promote their products Seoul (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ministry of Agriculture Vietnam is gradually emerging as an important market for Korean agricultural equipment and materials export importing 1.02 billion USD worth of those products from the RoK by the end of 2023 Despite experiencing difficulties due to the global economic downturn fertiliser and pesticide exports showed an upward trend with export turnover increasing by more than 33% compared to the previous year The Korean delegation is scheduled to engage in an export consultation conference with 30 Vietnamese import companies on August 27 They will also visit the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam to learn about the current situation of the country's agriculture and related policies regulations and details related to agricultural equipment certification including import customs procedures for each item The delegation is expected to propose cooperation so that procedures such as registration and licensing for products exported to Vietnam can be carried out quickly Director-General Lee Sang-man of the MAFRA's Agri-Food Innovation Policy Bureau said that by sending the market development team to create sales channels such as overseas fairs buyer connections and export consultation meetings the RoK hopes that its agricultural equipment companies will be able to strengthen the foundation for penetrating the Vietnamese market and expanding exports the MAFRA has sent a market development team to countries every year to explore opportunities for Korean agricultural equipment exporters to develop overseas markets and expand exports study the needs of local localities through consultation with local authorities while providing export consultation and market research support The Republic of Korean (RoK)’s Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) has announced that its smart farm sector is gaining momentum in penetrating the Vietnamese market leveraging advanced technologies to expand into the Southeast Asian region The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) has officially announced regulations for importing fresh pomelos from Vietnam on its website according to the Plant Protection Department (PPD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Enterprises in the Central Highlands provinces of Vietnam inked 36 memorandums of understandings with partners from the Republic of Korea (RoK) at a trade promotion conference held in Lam Dong province on August 1 Vietnam's GDP per capita was 4,535 USD in 2024 The Government aims to achieve over 7,500 USD in GDP per capita by 2030 and become a high-income country by 2045 economic experts have recommended Hanoi to implement a range of measures to manage inflation in the coming months They emphasised the need to strengthen price monitoring of essential goods A highlight of the Vietnam Goods Week in Malaysia is the introduction of Vietnamese culinary booths featuring iconic dishes like Vietnamese banh mi (baguette) and coffee by the "Saigon Station" restaurant The Sri Lankan President emphasised investment opportunities for Vingroup in the sectors it is strong at such as tourism especially in Colombo – Sri Lanka’s largest city an upcoming state visit to Kazakhstan by Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam promises to inject new energy into economic ties The Ministry of Industry and Trade have announced reductions in retail fuel prices after nearly four decades of economic reform the sector has grown steadily in both scale and quality becoming one of the key driving forces of the socialist-oriented market economy airports nationwide handled over 12,610 flights marking a 19.45% increase compared to the same period last year the students were informed about how to take advantage of the free trade agreements that Vietnam and Canada have signed to optimise supply chains they also heard about Vietnam's potential as an Asian logistics hub Deputy PM Dung emphasised that this is a particularly important external task of the Party and State affirming Vietnam’s role and position on the international stage while showcasing the results of 40 years of its renewal creating new momentum and driving force for Kien Giang The ministry received the notification from the EC’s Directorate – General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE) in early May which requested Vietnam to submit a progress report on implementing the EC’s recommended improvements before September 15 The commission will dispatch an inspection team to the country in late 2025 if the report demonstrates sufficient advancements The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at 24,944 VND/USD on May 5 down 12 VND from the day before the April 30 – May 1 holidays Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) will be the lead arranger of the financing and will handle the underwriting for the syndicated loan of 1.85 trillion IDR which will cover more than 2,300ha with key function sites for manufacturing would need an investment of 40 trillion VNA (1.6 billion USD) The Vietnamese pavilion introduces eco-friendly handicrafts for the first time and animal figurines made from wood and bamboo scraps displayed alongside traditional items in the Asia Hall Muslim tourism has become a global trend and is playing an increasingly vital role in many countries' tourism sectors Rector of the Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism The Vietnamese companies showcased a wide range of goods from raw input materials for production chains to high-value processed food products VinFast vehicle owners in the Netherlands can now access services at nine workshops with plans to expand to LKQ Netherlands’ full network of 260 service centres The company presented its flagship products and energy-efficient glass all environmentally friendly and integrated with advanced technology 2008 by the Ministry of Information and Communications Email: vietnamplus@vnanet.vn © Copyright belongs to VietnamPlus, VNA. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without written consent. Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Susan Fenton Reports of negotiations stir speculation about potential buyers for influential publishing group the former Czech prime minister and oligarch not because he is withdrawing from politics This year it will be ten years since Babiš sent out what is probably his most famous tweet The simple message set off wild speculation in mid-2013 A number of insiders were presuming the businessman billionaire oligarch and then fledgling politician was going to acquire Ringier media outlets for his portfolio the most widely read tabloid in the Czech Republic it turned out it was the publishing house Mafra that became part of Babiš’s Agrofert conglomerate This controversial acquisition fired the starting gun on a decade of major changes in the Czech media market, as major media houses moved from foreign owners into the hands of Czech oligarchs After ten years of Babiš‘ ownership Mafra is likely to be sold Tykač does not own any media and would be a newcomer to the club of “media oligarchs” Babiš bought Mafra in 2013 from the German company Rheinisch-Bergische Verlagsgesellschaft other billionaires followed suit and snapped up legacy media as a means of strengthening influence alongside their core businesses The Czech portfolio of Swiss Ringier was bought by energy tycoon Daniel Křetínský Dozens of regional daily newspapers and other magazines were bought from the German group Verlagsgruppe Passau by the financial group Penta different owners began to interfere in the editorial independence of their media to different degrees critical or investigative reporting on certain topics quietly became off limits As this oligarchization and its implications for media freedom continued often founded by journalists who quit after threats were made to their media’s editorial independence Babiš also soon added the commercial radio station Impuls to his media portfolio followed by about 30 lifestyle magazines acquired from another German publisher these media were essentially used as promotional platforms for his election campaign When Babiš was running for president in January 2023 these magazines published a series of articles showing him as a great father and an ordinary and smiling man There were also interviews with his wife and glimpses behind the scenes of the Babiš family Subscribe for press freedom news and updates the texts seemed like PR materials written on demand but they pretended to be editorial content The subliminal message to the readers – mainly to the female readers – was obvious: vote for Babiš Similar texts in support of Babiš were published in the same lifestyle magazines in previous years these titles did not focus on politics at all but that changed when Babiš became their owner The Czech press law does not require newspapers and magazines to have a balance of opinion so such texts are not in breach of the law but undoubtedly highly problematic in terms of journalistic ethics This aggressive campaign and the support of his own media proved insufficient for  Babiš in the end, and his failure in the presidential election fueled speculation that he would sell Mafra Rumours that the publishing house might change hands appeared last autumn and the new year brought a new name of a possible buyer there was speculation about the aforementioned Daniel Křetínský another billionaire with an energy business confirmed his interest in Mafra and that he had started ongoing negotiations He told Czech Radio that one of his motivations to purchase the media was “so that it does not fall into some hands that will use it in a way that would not be in the interest of this country” Mafra’s economic results have not been impressive in recent years. The daily newspapers led by Mlada fronta Dnes and Lidove noviny are losing money, with operating losses are in the tens of millions, according to the magazine Reporter the company’s lifestyle magazines are economically stable and the internet portals with radio Impuls are profitable the Mafra media group has repeatedly made losses over the past three years This suggests that interest in the media house is not so much motivated by profit as by the potential influence that Mafra offers its owner. The business of both Pavel Tykač (Sev.en Energy) and Daniel Křetínský (EPH holding) is not based on media electricity and heat production and distribution they can subsidize any losses of their media holdings However, it would be a mistake to say that the whole transaction is not about profit at all. The energy business is inherently dependent on good relations with the state and municipalities, and the Czech state has so far generously subsidized the oligarchs with state advertising, which has almost exclusively ended up with the big media houses This fragile symbiosis is likely to continue despite promises by the government of Petr Fiala to change the state advertising system in order to support smaller independent media After the government abolished the media and disinformation commissioner in mid-February the media appears to have fallen off the cabinet’s agenda Together, the titles of the Mafra publishing house have a reach of 3.23 million readers, according to last year’s figures while Daniel Křetínský’s second CNC reaches 3.08 million readers This shows how much Křetínský would strengthen his market position by buying Mafra The question is why Andrej Babiš wants to get rid of this influence and why he wants to do it now The answer may sound paradoxical: because of politics Ten years ago Babiš bought Mafra precisely to strengthen his political clout But today the ownership of Mafra may make it more difficult for him to remain in politics Babiš has already announced that he wants to remain a member of parliament However, a government amendment to the Conflict of Interest Act that is currently making its way through the legislative process would hit his media business hard would ban public officials from owning or publishing media this ban would apply to the ultimate owner of the media company It would include members of the government and serving MPs According to the authors of the bill, the amendment will prevent circumvention of the conflict of interest law and should stop efforts by politicians to influence media houses through their ownership According to the register of beneficial owners it has been enough for him to transfer his assets to trust funds in 2017 he has faced criticism that he continues to control his companies this was proven by the positive writings in his magazines and obvious PR for Babiš before this year’s presidential campaign and in previous years The Mafra daily newspapers were under permanent suspicion of favouring Babiš when they reported less extensively or with different accents on his affairs and conflicts of interest than other media they completely ignored corruption scandals involving Babiš It is to be expected that the next owner of Mafra will not abuse these media in such a blatant way if only because neither Tykač nor Křetínský (if one of them is indeed the buyer) is directly involved in politics both could undoubtedly use the group’s media influence to benefit their other business most of the Czech media will remain firmly in the hands of oligarchs IPI membership is open to anyone active in the field of journalism in schools of journalism or in defence of press freedom rights who supports the principle of freedom of the press and desires to co-operate in achieving IPI’s objectives Become a member Our mission is to defend media freedom and support independent journalism wherever they are threatened Don’t stay silent—stand with IPI for press freedom Sign up for updates and learn how you can help us make a difference Contact us! Careers Privacy Policy IPI Newsletters The event was hosted by the Mayor of Mafra and had the participation of the Secretary General of Europa Nostra — Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović (@SneskaEN) October 25, 2023 Mafra will also host the National Museum of Mafra the Music Sciences Centre of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the National Sound Archive thus strengthening the connection of the town with music Although based in Mafra, the activities and events organised by CEM Portugal will take place across the country. The CEM Portugal has been developed in collaboration with Terrafoundation a Portuguese cultural platform based in Lisbon Jorge Chaminé spoke about the Centre Européen de Musique based in Bougival and its hub in Portugal “The CEM celebrates music as a universal language at the heart of Europe’s identity and humanistic values After 23 years of dedication to this holistic project based in Bougival it is very moving to launch the CEM in my native country I would like to thank the alliance of cities that – in an exemplary and unique way in Europe – have come together to implement the CEM Portugal,” he stated — Centre Européen de Musique (@CemCentre) October 25, 2023 Following the introductory remarks by the Director of the National Palace of Mafra and the Portuguese Secretary of State for Culture “We need the power of music to once again learn how to live together in Europe and in the world a great European born in the Portuguese city of Porto have demonstrated through the CEM Portugal your close connection with a Europe of culture and a Europe of values hope that many others will follow your example.” an EU-funded pilot project formed by a consortium of 21 partners led by Europa Nostra to connect heritage stakeholders and initiatives across Europe over 200 concerts of the world’s largest set of 18th-century carillon bells have been performed The launch event of the CEM Portugal featured a musical performance entitled “Passarola | Music Variations on the Past and the Future K.87″ by Pedro Emanuel Pereira Composed from Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata K.87 Passarola is the first research and cultural creation project that is part of Via Scarlatti a collaboration between CEM and Terrafoundation It symbolises the cross point between culture and science revealing the power of innovation and the dynamic relationship between the past Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) announced on Feb 25 that it held the first Korea-Qatar Smart Farm Cooperation Committee in Doha to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of smart agriculture between the two countries as a follow-up to an MOU signed between Korea and Qatar in October 2023 The Qatar-Korea Smart Farm Cooperation Committee is a working-level committee at the ministerial level an official of MAFRA and its chief representative The two countries shared the direction of smart agriculture policies and discussed research cooperation including joint technology demonstrations in the field of smart farming They introduced a Korean smart farm innovation valley model and proposed making investments to build an innovation valley in Qatar MAFRA has been expanding policies to foster and support domestic smart agriculture including enacting the Smart Agriculture Act in July 2023 the ministry is creating various policies including establishing demonstration greenhouses in countries interested in importing Korean smart farms such as those in the Middle East and expanding the number of trade centers for smart farms Qatar is showing much interest in strengthening food security by spreading smart agriculture under its national food security strategy It plans to establish the next phase of its strategy in 2024 Qatar officials are planning to tour the Smart Farm Innovation Valley model and export companies in the first half of this year for closer cooperation with Korea Read the entire article at Business Korea following a nomination by the national cultural association Centro Nacional de Cultura which includes the restoration of the 18th-century carillons and associated bells and clocks in the two towers of the Mafra Basilica Taking an optimistic view and assuming available finance the conservation work could be carried out from the end of 2015 to mid-2017 in time for the 300th anniversary of the start of the construction of the Palace considered a key work of the Baroque in Portugal “This is a relatively modest investment which could have a real impact on enhancing interest in the Mafra National Palace complex as a cultural heritage destination particularly in reestablishing its campanological credentials It will bring the bells back into use and properly secure them allowing their potential to be realised It is thus considered to be a very worthwhile and needed initiative” Technical Consultant from the European Investment Bank Institute The 50-metre high towers of the Basilica feature a unique set of 120 cast bronze bells The programme is to repair and bring as many bells as possible back into service Most will be lowered to the ground and stored or moved to the repair shop but some may be able to be treated in situ The south tower carillon will be fully operational and it is proposed that it should be retuned The north tower carillon – which has never been altered and therefore provides a rare example of the sound of bell-performance in its original tuning condition – will be restored The instrument in the south tower will be completely restored whereas that in the north tower will be partially rehabilitated The large liturgical bells will be properly secured and stabilised Ten of the eleven bells are cracked and will not be restored; therefore The 12-tonne clock bells will also be correctly secured and stabilised Only one of the six bells is cracked; hence The carillon equipment and the clock mechanisms will be brought back into operation with repairs as necessary and the connections to the carillon and clock bells will be reestablished other associated works to be carried out are: the repair and reinforcement of the wooden structural frames which support the carillons and liturgical bells; the restoration of the stone structure exterior of the towers with repointing; the provision of a drainage system to reduce the humidity at level three of the south tower; and the installation of new electrical systems for lighting and heating The main technical challenge is how to carry out the works in the areas where the heavy bells are being supported and where repairs are required to the bell fastenings and the structural timber frame “These working methods are primarily the responsibility of the works’ contractor but need to be overseen and assisted by the promoter to reduce the contract risk and the impact on costs Further pre-contract work on investigating the scope of the problem relating to the structural timber would seem worthwhile to clarify this issue thus reducing the risk for the bidders to the benefit of the client” “It is important that the national authorities work together with the local municipality and other parties to prepare a convincing dossier for grant support The grant component cannot cover the full cost of the project (probably about 50%) and so some other funding is required” “The Mafra Municipality might be able to pre-finance some of the project preparation phases Efforts to tap private funds or institutions such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation should be explored the European Investment Bank might be a potential source of loan funding” Current visitors to the Palace complex exceed 250,000 per year and this number should increase post project Carillon concerts will complement the main musical attraction of the Basilica which attract specialists and enthusiasts from afar It is planned to move the Museum of Music from Lisbon thus making Mafra the principal musical centre of the country The action plan was formulated on the basis of previous studies made by specialists in musicology and civil engineering as well as the outcomes of the three-day mission undertaken by heritage and financial experts from Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute to Mafra and Lisbon in October 2014 the European delegates participated in a technical visit to the Palace and took part in working meetings with local Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute will announce in the coming weeks the technical and financial actions plans for other heritage sites listed for ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ 2014 namely the historic stage machinery of the Bourla theatre in Antwerp in Belgium the neighbourhoods of Dolcho and Apozari in Kastoria in Greece the citadel of Alessandria in Italy and the synagogue in Subotica in Serbia The action plan for the wooden churches in Southern Transylvania and Northern Oltenia in Romania was announced on 5 March The mission to the Colour Row Settlement in Chernyakhovsk in Russia is expected to take place later in the year Former UFC welterweight Leonardo Mafra has his eyes on the biggest prize of his career as he prepares to challenge for championship gold in Russia Mafra will drop five pounds to challenge for Brave CF's 165-pound super lightweight title in the main event of Brave CF 46 as the Bahraini promotion stages its first event on Russian soil on Jan Mafra (15-5) will take on reigning champion Eldar Eldarov in a battle between the Brazilian striker and the Russian sambo specialist and said the hype surrounding the champ's grappling credentials doesn't concern him ahead of fight night in Sochi During his time as Khabib Nurmagomedov's cornerman for his fight with Thiago Tavares in Sao Paulo Eldarov (12-1) persuaded the future UFC lightweight champion to wear a t-shirt bearing the phrase it would be called jiu-jitsu." The slogan caused quite a stir with the Brazilian fans that week and Mafra – who prefers to finish his opponents with strikes rather than submissions –spoke about that incident in Brazil and said he'd like to gain a little retribution when he faces Eldarov on Jan I respect and appreciate the Brazilian jiu-jitsu," he said during an Instagram Live interview with Brave CF But I know Eldar is a guy who likes to say he represents sambo Mafra heads into the title fight after more than a year away from the cage His last outing saw him claim a unanimous decision win over Djamil Chan at Brave CF 25 in August 2019 but a planned bout with England's Carl Booth was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic with Eldarov eventually being handed a shot at the 165-pound title A former protege of the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Eldarov heads into the matchup riding a decade-long 11-fight winning streak His only career defeat came against Nurmagomedov in Eldarov's second professional bout The 19-year-old penned a five-year contract with FC Midtylland The youngster scored four goals on his debut for FC Midtylland in a Cup clash against Aabenraa BK in September 2023 Iheanacho however failed to make a league appearance for the multiple Superliga champions The forward however played a key role in Midtylland’s side that won the U-19 youth league last season The former Golden Eaglets player scored 12 goals in 22 appearances in the youth league He also played four matches in the UEFA Youth League © 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved © 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations One of the largest publishing houses in the Czech Republic – Mafra – will no longer be owned by the Agrofert holding whose beneficial owner is former prime minister Andrej Babiš director of the Czech Foundation for Independent Journalism either observed and verified directly by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources “The sale of the Mafra publishing house from the trust funds of former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is clearly a positive thing for the Czech media,” said Klimeš Already a subscriber? Log In De La Riva- X Guard Sweep + Armbar Finish Half Guard Kneebar + Sweep Armbar From Side Control Half Guard Lapel Sweep The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Stanley Iheanacho has sealed a move to Liga Portugal 2 outfit Iheanacho linked up with CD Mafra from Danish Superliga side The 19-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year contract with his new club The forward played a key role in Midtylland’s side that won the U-19 youth league last season and also played four matches in the UEFA Youth League Ballon d’Or 2024: Messi given 4% chance to win ahead of Vinicius CAF coaching course: 3SC render support to five female coaches Championship: Iheanacho targets more goals for Middlesbrough Championship: Iheanacho will score more goals – Carrick Championship: Iheanacho scores first Middlesbrough goal in win over Oxford Transfer: Chelsea agree deal for Portuguese top talent Geovany Quenda Championship: Iheanacho eager to play for Middlesbrough – Carrick Transfer: Iheanacho won’t rule out Sevilla return Copyright © Daily Post Media Ltd Marcelo "Lapela" Mafra is one of Checkmat’s best representatives Mafra’s credentials are about as good as they come in jiu-jitsu He’s taking his experience as a competitor and turning it into a vehicle for running his own event which aims to promote the growth of jiu-jitsu by rewarding white-purple belt absolute champions with cash prizes The Lapela Cup is set to go down March 17 in Victorville, California. You can sign up to compete here.  the Lapela Cup awards absolute division champions with $400; second place will take home $100 There is a light absolute (170lb and under) division and heavy absolute (171lb and over) bracket for each belt level Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information the World Heritage Committee inscribed six cultural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List The newly inscribed sites are located in Azerbaijan Inscriptions will continue in the afternoon Cerco Garden and Hunting Park (Tapada) (Portugal) — Located 30 km northwest of Lisbon the site was conceived by King João V in 1711 as a tangible representation of his conception of the monarchy and the State This imposing quadrangular building houses the king’s and queen's palaces a Franciscan monastery and a library containing 36,000 volumes The complex is completed by the Cerco garden The Royal Mafra Building is one of the most remarkable works undertaken by King João V which illustrates the power and reach of the Portuguese Empire João V adopted Roman and Italian baroque architectural and artistic models and commissioned works of art that make Mafra an exceptional example of Italian Baroque Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga (Portugal) — The site a cultural landscape located on the slopes of Mount Espinho overlooking the city of Braga in the north of Portugal recreating a sacred mount crowned with a church The sanctuary was developed over a period of more than 600 years and illustrates a European tradition of creating Sacri Monti (sacred mountains) promoted by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in the 16th century The Bom Jesus ensemble is centred on a Via Crucis that leads up the western slope of the mount It includes a series of chapels that house sculptures evoking the Passion of Christ The granite buildings have whitewashed plaster façades The celebrated Stairway of the Five Senses is the most emblematic Baroque work within the property Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture (Russian Federation) — Churches fortification towers and administrative buildings make up the site a group of monuments located in the historic city of Pskov on the banks of the Velikaya River in the northwest of Russia produced by the Pskov School of Architecture with the oldest elements dating back to the 12th century Churches and cathedrals are integrated into the natural environment through gardens Inspired by the Byzantine and Novgorod traditions the Pskov School of Architecture reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries and was one of the foremost schools in the country It informed the evolution of Russian architecture over five centuries Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape (Spain) — Located in a vast mountainous area in the centre of Gran Canaria ravines and volcanic formations in a landscape of rich biodiversity The landscape includes a large number of troglodyte settlements — habitats granaries and cisterns — whose age is proof of the presence of a pre-Hispanic culture on the island until the first Spanish settlers in the 15th century The troglodyte complex also includes cult cavities and two sacred temples or almogarenes — Risco Caído and Roque Bentayga — where seasonal ceremonies were held These temples are thought to be linked to a possible cult of the stars and “Mother Earth.” Jodrell Bank Observatory (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) — Located in a rural area of northwest England Jodrell Bank is one of the world's leading radio astronomy observatories the site housed research on cosmic rays detected by radar echoes includes several radio telescopes and working buildings including engineering sheds and the Control Building Jodrell Bank has had substantial scientific impact in fields such as the study of meteors and the moon This exceptional technological ensemble illustrates the transition from traditional optical astronomy to radio astronomy (1940s to 1960s) which led to radical changes in the understanding of the universe Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace (Azerbaijan) — The historic city of Sheki is located at the foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and divided in two by the Gurjana River While the older northern part is built on the mountain its southern part extends into the river valley rebuilt after the destruction of an earlier town by mudflows in the 18th century is characterized by a traditional architectural ensemble of houses with high gabled roofs Located along important historic trade routes the city's architecture is influenced by Safavid reflect the wealth generated by silkworm breeding and the trade in silk cocoons from the late 18th to the 19th centuries The 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee continues until 10 July Follow the debatesB-roll Lucía Iglesias Kuntz, UNESCO Media Section,l.iglesias@unesco.org +994 50 557 99 52 or +33 (0) 6 80 24 07 29 Agnès Bardon, Service de presse de l’UNESCO, a.bardon@unesco.org +994 50 557 99 53 or +33 (0) 6 80 24 13 56 Follow the Committee on Twitter: #WorldHeritageTwitter: @UNESCOFacebook:@UNESCO Metrics details This paper presents the work done as part of a master dissertation on Conservation and Restoration at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology The “Cofre n.º 31” is a French fifteenth century Book of Hours from the Library of the National Palace of Mafra composed by illuminations and devotional texts was in bad condition due mainly to the rebinding done between eighteenth and nineteenth centuries According to the assessment of the state of conservation the main damages observed in the text block and binding were: volume distortion The pigments palette was identified by µ-EDXRF which is consistent with the materials used in the fifteenth century some particular application techniques such as mixtures and overlays were found namely in the red colours and specifically in the metallic leaves Some of these colours also show specific degradation: darkening of the mixture of minium and vermillion; silver tarnishing with strong migration into the parchment support especially when associated with minium; detachment of azurite The main deterioration processes associated to silver and pigments can be assigned to their reactions with humidity and air pollutants to the grain size of the pigments and to mechanical factors related to the book binding and its use The presence of different pigments application techniques in different groups of folios lead us to conclude for the existence of a pigments palette with variations three different illuminators and two different techniques confirming the proposals of art history studies General view of the manuscript before intervention: upper board spine and tail-edge showing signs of degradation Illuminations from Cofre n.º 31 (not in scale): a the Annunciation f.62r; f Saint Christopher (historiated initial) f.141v; g Saint Catherine (historiated initial) f.155r; j full folio with the Virgin and Child standing out the percentage of damaged illuminated folios (89%) even though most of them (78%) can be considered slightly damaged Equipment details can be found at the Methods section µ-EDXRF spectra of three different writing inks assigned to three groups of folios of Cofre n.º 31 and their respective images Cu and Zn; characteristic elements of the parchment are also shown (Ca The two yellow pigments: a hair of the Virgin f.25r; b µ-Raman spectrum of lead–tin yellow type I (characteristic bands at 128 and 194 cm−1); c drap d’honneur f.91r; d µ-EDXRF spectrum of mosaic gold featuring Sn The three blue pigments: a detail of the Virgin’s mantle (f.91r) made up with layers of azurite indigo and lead white; b FORS spectrum showing characteristics of both curves of azurite and lapis lazuli (Virgin’s mantle f.91r); c µ-Raman spectrum of lapis lazuli (Virgin’s mantle f.91r); d µ-Raman spectrum of indigo (Virgin’s mantle f.25r); e illuminated initial with azurite in the centre background (f.72r); f µ-Raman spectrum of azurite showing its characteristic bands (illuminated initial a Green chequered pavement made up with malachite and an organic lake (f.91r) and b its µ-Raman spectrum showing the characteristic bands of malachite a Orange fruit (f.91r); b µ-Raman spectrum of minium (fruit f.91r); c strawberries made up with minium vermilion and a red organic lake (f.91r); d µ-EDXRF spectrum showing high peaks of Pb and Hg evidencing the presence of minium and vermilion (strawberries Pinks and carmines: a drap d’honneur, f.25r; b right figure’s mantle, f.91r; c line filler detail, f.48r; d Comparative FORS reflectance spectrum of a pink colour (f.25r) with a brazilwood lake reconstruction based on a medieval recipe (from the database of DCR-FCT-UNL) a Skin tone created with lead white and minium (angel’s face f.25r); b Raman spectrum showing the characteristic bands of minium (121 and 548 cm−1) and of lead white (1049 cm−1) a Grey tones from King David’s beard (f.73r) with white blue and brown pigments visible in the magnified image upper-left (×63); b µ-EDXRF spectrum showing Pb and Cu indicating lead white and azurite (but not conclusively) respectively (analysed point in the upper-left) lead white and azurite were probably mixed with an organic red which could not be detected by the techniques used a Gold leaf used in the background of an illuminated initial; b its XRF spectrum showing the elements: Au Silver, severely affected by degradation, will be addressed in the “Pigment degradation processes” section µ-FTIR spectrum of carmine colour showing bands of calcium carbonate (empty circle) and gypsum (filled circle) Colour palette: pigments and additives identified in the Book of Hours Cofre n.º 31 The types of degradation found in the pictorial layer are described below Some hypotheses for the causes and processes of deterioration are also proposed On top, flower constructed with silver, gold, lapis lazuli over a ground of calcium carbonate, f.91r: a image (16×); b µ-EDXRF spectrum of a spot of the flower showing peaks of Ag, Au, Ca, S and other elements (many from the parchment); on bottom: µ-Raman spectra of silver degradation in the windowpanes of the Annunciation (f.25r), c suggesting silver sulphide (Ag2S), d evidencing the presence of indigo (analysed points indicated by the white arrow) a Verso of some flowers of f.91r showing pigments migration (7×); b idem Examples of minium and vermilion degradation: a flower f.25r; d minium degradation of purple flower on the recto of f.45v All of this evidence shows that we are in front of complex degradations—therefore the continuation of these studies is necessary for the understanding of the involved phenomena In addition to the migration of silver and minium, other colours can be observed on the backside of the support. The matte look of gold powder, observed in elements such as acanthus leaves and flowers, presents migration of a yellow orange tone (Fig. 15a) originated by copper (identified by µ-EDXRF) which is intensified in areas of greater usage and handling (such as the lower right corner) As the other described degradation phenomena this one needs more studies for its comprehension Examples of mechanical degradation: a detachment of a lead white based pigment in Virgin’s face f.25r; b detachment of azurite in a line filler f.91r; d dissolution of black pigment in a border The multidisciplinary study carried out in Cofre n.º 31 has revealed essential for the confirmation of the hypothesis raised in History of ArtFootnote 6 concerning the existence of three hands/artists in the making of the illuminations of this Book of Hours The results of the scientific analysis of the colour materials allowed us to verify some differences in the inks, pigments palettes and their application, summarised in Table 4 we can observe that the illuminations of the first group were composed of lapis lazuli over azurite and indigo to create the shades of the robes—but in the figures of the second and third group The difference is accentuated when analysing oranges and reds: in the first group the mantle of King David is painted with minium and an organic lake (f.73r) flowers and acanthus leaves of the borders are made of a mixture of minium and vermilion with a carmine glaze of an organic lake—while in the illuminations of the second and third groups the artists stand out from the first one by using only vermilion in all the reds this approach has allowed us to identify two techniques of pigments application distinguishing the artist of the first group of illuminations from the other two the tarnishing of silver changes the appearance of the image resulting in the opposite of the light effect probably demanded by the artist and migrating into the parchment so intensely suggesting that the association of silver and pigments could be an aggravating factor of degradation present in small flowers and decorative elements further research by extending it to other illuminated manuscripts and by making reconstructions of these mixtures of silver and pigments mainly of azurite applied especially on line fillers initial backgrounds and flowers—the grain size of the pigments along with interaction with the protein binding are the most likely explanations for this phenomenon but it is also necessary to continue this investigation we would like to emphazise that the results obtained with the study of this manuscript are intended not only to be a contribution to studies already initiated on the Books of Hours of the Library of Mafra National Palace and for future researches on this subject but also for its application in other illuminated manuscripts—particularly the collection of Books of Hours of the National Library of Brazil brought by the Portuguese crown to Rio de Janeiro between 1810 and 1811 Digital microphotography and microsampling were carried out using a Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope (7.1× to 115× zoom range) equipped with a Leica ICD digital camera and a fibre optic light Leica system (Leica KI 1500 LCD) Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (µ-EDXRF) was performed in a spectrometer Intax ArtTAX Pro (GmbH) equipped with an X-ray beam of molybdenum in diameter of about 70 μm and a metal detector silicon XFlash® accumulation time of up to 150 s and helium atmosphere for blue and air for the other colors This equipment detects elements of atomic number ≥ 13 (Al) Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) was performed in a spectrophotometer Ocean Optics Maya 2000 Pro with metal detector network 2048 silicon CCD array and halogen lighting source HL-200-HP beam diameter of 2 mm and incidence angle of 45°; sweep time of 8 ms 5 box width and diffuse reflectance mode with calibration in Spectralon® 99% Micro-Raman spectroscopy was performed in a spectrometer Horiba Jobin–Yvon LabRaman300 with Olympus objective of 40× and 100×; HeNe lasers with excitation at 633 lines (17 mW) and 532 nm (500 mW) with filter (reducing its power in 90%) were used Micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed in a Nicolet Nexus spectrophotometer coupled to a Nicolet Continuum microscope with MCT detector cooled by liquid nitrogen; the spectra were collected in transmittance mode with interval of 4000–650 cm−1 obtaining a resolution of 4 cm−1 and 128 wipes in areas of 50–100 μm with recourse to a Thermo diamond cell of compression Ominic software was used in the analysis of spectra All equipment belongs to the Scientific Laboratory of the DCR-FCT-UNL studies have been continued by the team of the Conservation and Restoration Department (DCR-FCT-UNL) whose results can be found in the article “Silver paints in medieval manuscripts: a first molecular survey into their degradation“ Comparing with spectra of historical reconstructions of brazilwood lakes with gum Arabic based on medieval recipes performed by T The results were advanced and presented by Ana Lemos at the IX Jornadas Complutenses de Arte Medieval—“Ver y Crear Obradores y mercados pictóricos en la España Gótica (1350–1500)” 2015 in Madrid (that will be published soon) Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy Carvalho IL de. Processos de degradação em manuscritos iluminados: estudo, conservação e restauro de um livro de horas do século XV do Palácio Nacional de Mafra [dissertation]. Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa; 2015. https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/17113 Os livros de horas iluminados do Palácio Nacional de Mafra Lisboa: Instituto de Estudos Medievais/Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas—Universidade Nova de Lisboa; 2012 Time sanctified: the book of hours in medieval art and life New York: George Brazilier; The Walters Art Museum; 1988 Improved damage assessment of parchment—IDAP—Assessment Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities; 2007 Helpfile—Parchment Assessment Report/IDAP March X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry as a diagnostic tool in characterization and conservation of manueline illuminated manuscripts developments and international perspectives Spectroscopic characterization of a masterpiece: the Manueline foral charter of Sintra Spectrochim Acta Part A Mol Biomol Spectrosc Tip-enhanced raman spectroscopy (TERS) for in situ identification of indigo and iron gall ink on paper Smith G, Clark R. Raman microscopy in art history and conservation science. Rev Conserv. 2001;(2):92–106. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/29386/ Raman spectroscopic library of natural and synthetic pigments (pre-approximately 1850 AD) Raman spectroscopy analysis of pigments on 16–17th c Uv–Vis–Nir reflectance spectroscopy of red lakes in paintings Characterisation of colourants on illuminated manuscripts by portable fibre optic UV–visible–NIR reflectance spectrophotometry and X-ray fluorescence to map and identify pigments in illuminated manuscripts FORS spectral database of historical pigments in different binders Technical analysis of illuminated manuscripts from the Library at the University of Valencia A spectroscopic study of Brazilwood paints in medieval books of hours Infrared spectroscopy in conservation science Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute; 1999 História breve dos pigmentos: das Artes da Idade Média (2a parte) Araújo AR. Os Livros de Horas (séc. XV) na colecção do Palácio Nacional de Mafra : estudo e conservação [dissertation]. Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa; 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/9329 O que nos dizem os materiais da cor sobre os livros de horas do Palácio Nacional de Mafra Os Livros de Horas Iluminados do Palácio Nacional de Mafra Lisboa: Instituto de Estudos Medievais da FCSH-UNL; Palácio Nacional de Mafra; 2012 Brésil et autres rouges: dix recettes de laque médiévales Les laques de brésil dans l’enluminure médiévale: reconstitution à partir de recettes anciennes Binding media in medieval manuscript illumination: a source research Micro-Raman characterisation of silver corrosion products : instrumental set up and reference Study of environmental degradation of silver surface In: 4th international conference on spectroscopic ellipsometry Painting techniques in the Boucicaut Hours and in Jacques Coene’s colour recipes as found in Jean Lebègue’s Libri Colorum A study on red lead degradation in a medieval manuscript Lorvão Apocalypse (1189) História Breve dos Pigmentos: das Artes da Idade Média (1a parte) The effect of relative humidity on artists’ pigments Cinnabar reviewed: characterization of the red pigment and its reactions Analysis and consolidation of lifting ink in a twelfth-century manuscript The conservation assessment of an illuminated Book of Hours: understanding craftsmanship through interdisciplinary research: preliminary investigation Examination and conservation of the fifteenth-century parchment manuscript Work art Pap books Doc Photogr Tech Conserv Contrib to Balt Congr An examination of particle size distributions of azurite and natural ultramarine in some early netherlandish paintings Download references IC performed the analyses of XRF (data collect FORS and FTIR (data processing and interpretation) under the supervision of RA as well as the conservation assessment and article writing RA was responsible for Raman and FTIR data collecting supervising all the analytical and practical tasks and article reviews AL was responsible for the art history analyses CC was responsible for general supervising of the study and article reviews All authors read and approved the final manuscript who helped with the analyses and other tasks as part of her master’s first-year studies; to Aissa Seidi for the final English language review; to the DCR-FCT-UNL for all the support; to Mafra National Palace which lended its precious Book of Hours to be studied and treated; to the National Library of Brazil the institution that granted the first author a 2-year training permit and funds to study the master’s degree The authors declare that they have no competing interests A poster with a similar theme was presented at the Colours Conference in Évora including other aspects of the master’s dissertation was presented at the Fourth Luso-Brazilian Meeting of Conservation and Restoration Most of the data on which the conclusions of the manuscript rely on is published in this paper and in the master thesis referred below; the full data are available for consultation on request to the authors This article is a result of a dissertation done for a master’s degree course attended by Isamara Carvalho at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon The National Library of Brazil provided the first author with funding to travel The Faculty of Sciences and Technology has covered all the costs of the equipment and staff involved This study was also supported by the Portuguese Science Foundation through the CORES Ph.D Doctoral Programme in the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage with the Grant [SFRH/BD/52314/2013] Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-018-0174-5 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Already a subscriber? 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