Excited but still worried Authorities in the old continent gradually eased social distancing restrictions, as infection rates fell and the number of people vaccinated increased. In Italy, the original epicenter of the pandemic in Europe, a nationwide curfew will be lifted in the coming weeks; Germany is gradually easing tough restrictions imposed for a long time. In France, restaurants are allowed to serve guests outdoors starting May 19; Museums, including the famous Louvre, have plans to return visitors. The scene filled with breath of life at Paris’s famous Cafe de Flore on May 19. Photo: AFP. While cafes in Paris, including Ernest Hemingway’s familiar Les Deux Magots, are busy returning to their pre-pandemic rhythm, the famous nightclub Moulin Rouge is also starting to get excited, its dancers They took to the streets to promote their reopening in September with bold attention-grabbing styles. Although excitement is everywhere, there are still worries about the pandemic that has not passed. Because the new strain from India is spreading rapidly in many other parts of the world. Therefore, measures to prevent the disease will continue to be maintained. In Berlin, open-air restaurants will be trialled from May 21. Meanwhile, the rhythm of life in Paris cannot return to the way it was before the pandemic. Paolo Viglianisi, 66, owner of Paparazzi restaurant, located in a quiet square just behind Paris’ opera house, said: “We are very happy to reopen and are fortunate to have such a great location. great. But things will never go back to the way they were.” Before the crisis, his restaurant had 39 employees. Now, Viglianisi will open its doors with only about 15 employees on May 19. He aims to serve about 100 guests for lunch and another 100 for dinner, equivalent to two-thirds of pre-pandemic guests. Cautiously optimistic On May 19, the European Union (EU) decided to reopen its borders to people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Europe’s leaders need to strike the right balance between economic recovery and public health protection, or face the ire of voters. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are battling the Greens to run Europe’s largest economy, while French President Emmanuel Macron, who has struggled in vain to avoid a third lockdown, will face the challenge of running for re-election next year. French President Emmanuel Macron (right) at an outdoor cafe in Paris on May 19. Photo: AFP. “It is a very rare new moment of freedom and the fruit of our joint efforts,” Macron said in a televised interview, while drinking coffee on the morning of May 19, at the cafe. Outdoor coffee in the heart of Paris. The current overarching sentiment is cautiously optimistic. Containment measures have significantly slowed the spread, vaccination work is being carried out rapidly. But with the threat of new strains like the one from India, the risk is still there. “We can be confident but not hasty,” said Steffen Seibert, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman. The infection rate is still much higher than it was a year ago, so no one has yet reached the scene of enjoying a comfortable summer like before. Authorities have been on high alert since last spring, when the outbreak was under control and flared up worse in the fall. The town near Düsseldorf, Germany has temporarily quarantined 189 people after discovering the only case of the Indian variant here. Concerns have prevented businesses such as the Chinesischer Turm beer garden in Munich, which have been reopened, to return to their former life. Normally, about 7,000 diners can enjoy hot dogs and drink beer here, but due to few foreign tourists and gloomy weather, the picture of the future is even darker. Maria Pinzger, representative of the beer garden, said: “As long as we can continue to open, we are happy. But there is still a risk from new Covid-19 strains, we cannot assess the situation right now.” In Spain, restaurants and theaters reopened about two weeks ago with other restrictions on numbers and early closing hours. Sergi Ferrer, president of Barceloneta’s beachfront shop owners association, said that in Barcelona, ​​demand from locals is not enough to displace millions of tourists. “If we don’t have tourists this summer, business is going to be very bad,” said Ferrer, who runs a restaurant on the city’s pier. In Rome, extending the curfew past 10 p.m. will create a breakthrough for businesses like Ripa 12 fish restaurant in the Trastevere district. Although open since late April, many outdoor tables are empty by early evening, suggesting a slow-going revival. People eat outdoors at a restaurant in Rome. Photo: Xinhua. “Our customers are businessmen who work late into the night, barely showing up before 9pm,” said Vincenzo Colao, the restaurant’s owner. Restaurant revenue is down about 70% from pre-pandemic levels. This situation is also happening in Paris, where the outdoor tables of Paparazzi restaurant are limited to 6 people and everyone must keep a safe distance.

Images of Yuri Gagarin present everywhere in Russia – Photo: AFP

Russian astronaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, who is currently working on the International Space Station (ISS), said in a video clip released by the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) on April 12 – in celebration 60 years of human astronaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person to fly into space.

60 years ago, on April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft carrying astronaut Gagarin was launched from Baikonour Space Airport in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union. The flight lasted just 108 minutes when the ship completed one orbit of the Earth and returned.

Since then, astronaut Gagarin has also become a legend. The historian Alexander Zheleznyakov called this a moment that gave humanity a firm conviction that discovering another world outside of the vast universe was entirely within reach.

The event has made such a deep impression that the 27-year-old astronaut’s “Poekhali” has become a symbolic catchphrase for the Russian people throughout the years to come.

After 60 years, astronaut Yuri Gagarin is still mentioned as a national hero. Every year, many Russian people still come to place flowers at his memorial sites across the country on April 12.

While Gagarin was honored, the Vostok spacecraft was also put on display at the Space Travel Foundation in Moscow. Up to now, Gagarin’s flight has always been referred to as national pride for each Russian, a symbol of the power of the Soviet Union in the field of aerospace.

Every year, Russia celebrates the first flight of astronaut Gagarin into space and April 12 becomes Russia’s Astronaut Day.

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared April 12 to become the International Day of Flight to put people into space.

On this occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin went to Engels, a city on the banks of the Volga River in the south of the country, the landing point of the spacecraft carrying the Gagarin astronaut on a historic flight.

Four years before Gagarin’s flight, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union was also the first country in the world to put a satellite in orbit on Earth – the Sputnik satellite. Until now, the world still considered the first two “beep-beep” signals Sputnik sent to Earth triggered a race between the Soviet Union and the United States in the space field. pillar.

In the years that followed, Russia always took the lead when Gagarin successfully flew his flight, or the fact that the astronaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to step into space and the fact that Russia was the first country to launch. The Moon probe was launched in 1966. However, three years later, the US became the first country to send a man to the Moon.

Competition is fierce

Over the past 60 years, Russia has maintained a leading position in space exploration, steadily bringing astronauts to the ISS. However, observers assess that Russia is currently competing with strong competitors such as the US and China in the race to develop space technology.

In 2020, Russia loses its monopoly on human launchers on the ISS when US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Space X Company develops and successfully put into use reusable missile systems, bring the NASA astronauts to the ISS successfully.

Although Roscosmos Director Dmitry Rogozin insists the agency is pursuing ambitious projects such as a mission to Venus, Mars or setting up a space station on the Moon, industry insiders still consider this time to be full. difficult for Russia as rivals emerge increasingly powerful.

However, the Russian people still believe in future success when looking at the historical fact that this country always appears at memorable times in human history.