Good News Agency – n° 8
Weekly - Year I - Number 8 –
27 October 2000
Editor: Sergio Tripi
Rome
Law-court registration no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good
News Agency carries positive and constructive news
from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United
Nations, non governmental organizations, and institutions engaged in improving
the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day. Good
News Agency is distributed through internet to editorial offices of the daily newspapers
and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an
e-mail address in Canada, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Hungary, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and it is available in its web site:
http://www.goodnewsagency.org
Good News Agency is a free of charge service activity of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979. The Association operates in support to the Lucis Trust activities, the U.N. University for Peace, Radio For Peace International and other organizations engaged in the spreading of a culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective.
Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
Contents:
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International Legislation
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Solidarity
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Human
Rights
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Health
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Defence
of Peace
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Environment
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Economy
and Development
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Culture
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UN body gives green light to new information law on pollution
The Committee on Environmental Policy of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) has given the go-ahead at its
annual meeting for work to start on a new legally binding instrument requiring
companies to report to the public on their polluting emissions to the
environment.
The new law is expected to require countries to
establish pollution inventories known as pollutant release and transfer
registers (PRTRs). Under PRTR systems, potentially polluting companies are
required to report periodically (e.g. annually) on their emissions of certain
polluting substances to air, water and land, as well as their off-site
transfers of such substances for treatment or disposal. The reported
information is provided in electronic form and made accessible to the public,
including through the Internet, subject to limited exemptions.
http://www.unece.org/press/00env8e.htm
UNESCO’s
International Bioethics Committee (IBC) will hold its seventh session from
November 7 to 9 in Quito (Ecuador) to reflect on the ethical and legal issues
raised by research in the life sciences and their application.
Two
reports compiled by working groups the IBC established at its previous meeting
will be presented to the session. The first - to be discussed on November 8 -
concerns the ethical aspects of embryonic stem cell research and raises
questions such as: Should embryonic stem cells be considered in the same way as
the embryo, or do they have a different status? Should “therapeutic cloning” be
authorised?
The
second report - on solidarity and international co-operation between developed
and developing countries concerning the human genome - will be presented on
November 9. It features proposals to help finance human genome research,
training and the dissemination of knowledge in developing countries.
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2000/00-102e.shtml
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The
European Conference against Racism wound up its deliberations in Strasbourgon
13 October with a reaffirmation of Europe's cultural diversity and a call for
increased action to combat racism and related discrimination at national and
sub-national levels on the continent.
In a
strongly worded declaration, the Conference expressed alarm at the continuing
violence and occurrence of racism, including contemporary forms of slavery,
ethnic cleansing and the support for political parties and organizations disseminating
racist and xenophobic ideology in Europe.
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Three Sierra Leonean newspaper
editors were honoured by the World Press Review in New York for risking their
lives to uphold press freedom and human rights during the past nine years of
conflict in their country, according to news reports. Paul Kamara of 'For Di
People', Philip Neville of 'Standard Times' and David Tam-Baryoh of 'Punch'
received the International Editor of the Year Award at the UN Headquarters in
New York.
Also Winds of Peace in Israel
In these dramatic
days, there are also real signs of hope. Good News Agency is happy to report here
below the integral press release received yesterday directly from that crucial
area.
Call on the silent majority on both the Palestinian
and Israeli sides to take the lead and to return to peace talks.
The extremists and fanatics on both sides are endangering
the peace.
The silent majority of Israelis, Jews and
Arab/Palestinians have been taken unawares, and are dismayed to see that the
peace process has been stopped.
All the stones of all the mosques, synagogues and churches in the world,
are not worth the blood of one child.
"IFLAC: The International Forum for the Culture
of Peace", and “THE BRIDGE: Jewish and Arab/Palestinian Women” call on the
peaceful majority on both sides to take
the lead and to make it work. There is no way out, we live together
and we have to stop killing each
other. We have to go back to the
discussion table, and find ways to
arrive at a full Peace Treaty that would be acceptable by both the Palestinians and the Israelis, like
with Egypt and Jordan.
During this last week, in response to the madness and
the shootings, there have been numerous "Tents for Peace" in
different places in Haifa and the
Galilee, as well as in the villages Dahlia and
Ussfiya. We are calling on Jewish and Arab/ Palestinians
neighbours everywhere, to renew the good neighbourhood relations which were
such an important part of our lives. All of these initiatives taking
place at the grassroots level all over the country give us renewed motivation
to continue our efforts for peace, which is so crucial in these difficult days.
IFLAC- PAVE PEACE
together with THE BRIDGE, organized a SOUKKA for PEACE, in Haifa, in the
"Mother's Garden," - "Gan Ha Em," there were hundreds of
participants, half of them Jewish and half Arab/ Palestinian , who all spoke in
the spirit of the above words.
IFLAC - THE BRIDGE, also organized a Symposium on
"Good Neighbours," on Saturday October 21, at the TZAVTA Cultural Center, in Haifa, at 124
Shderot Ha-Nassi. A panel of prominent Israeli and Arab/ Palestinian
speakers addressed the audience, among
them: Prof. Chaim Aharoni, Nimer Nimer,
Mohamed Khaled, Soad Shahade, and Judith Zilberstein. Their open and sincere exchange showed that
they were speaking in the voices of the silent majority on both sides, that
want to live in peace and harmony with each other. The Panel was followed
by a lively discussion with the mixed audience of Jews and Arab/
Palestinians, and Resolutions in the spirit of the above were taken, mainly an
urgent request on both sides to stop shooting and to return to the negotiating
table and to the Peace Process.
Prof. Ada Aharoni, President: IFLAC - The
International Forum for the Culture of Peace
P.O.B: 9934,
ZIP: 34341 Horev 57, Haifa 34343.
Tel: 972-4-8243230, fax: 972-4-8261288
adah@matav.net.il
http://tx.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html
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Egypt, Cameroon Sign Agricultural Assistance Accord As Part Of Fao's Special Programme For Food Security
The
governments of Egypt and Cameroon signed on October 5 a tripartite agreement
with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to send Egyptian
agricultural technicians to assist Cameroon's agriculture. The cooperative accord,
signed under the framework of FAO's Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS),
will put the technical assistance services of Egypt at the disposal of Cameroon
for two to three years, stressing a continuing spirit of cooperation between
the two African countries.
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/OIS/PRESS_NE/PRESSENG/2000/pren0055.htm
Stable
uranium supply to fuel nuclear power plants will continue to be available. This
conclusion was reached at the International Symposium on the Uranium Production
Cycle and the Environment held from 2 to 6 October 2000 at the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The meeting included specialists from
about 40 countries.
Presentations
at the IAEA symposium underlined that the known uranium resources of 4 million
tonnes should last for about 65 years at present consumption rates without
reprocessing. Estimates of potential, yet undiscovered resources would add 16
million tonnes, increasing the time period to almost 300 years.
http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/P_release/2000/prn2600.shtml
A
USD 93.5 million project the "Sustainable Development Project for Agrarian
Reform Settlements in the Semi-Arid North east" in the Federative Republic
of Brazil, will receive a USD 25 million loan from the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD). The project area covers about 60
municipalities located in the semi-arid zone of five states of the northeast
Region that is subject to cyclical, severe regional droughts. This zone is the
least developed part of the region and the incidence of rural poverty exceeds
805, with critical poverty affecting more than 50% of the population.
http://www.ifad.org/press/2000/00-39.htm
A
USD 40 million programme, the South Kordofan Rural Development Programme, in
the Republic of The Sudan, will receive a USD 17.87 million loan and a USD
150,000 grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Since
the mid-1980’s, the State of South Kordofan has been plagued by civil strife,
although it has abated considerably over the last two years. It has led to widespread
disruption of communities, with some 200 000 people living under
conditions of insecurity; between 33 000 to 66 000 people suffer from
abject poverty in areas that are currently inaccessible to government services.
The programme’s overall goal is to improve and sustain the living standards of
the poorest rural population by ensuring their food security and providing them
with social services in a secure environment in which they can manage their own
community affairs.
http://www.ifad.org/press/2000/00-38.htm
What the world's poorest countries need most is not simply debt relief,
but a "New Deal" in international development cooperation, contends
UNCTAD in its Least Developed Countries 2000 Report, released on 12 October.
Almost two thirds of the 48 least developed countries (LDCs) have an external
debt burden which is unsustainable according to international criteria. But
past efforts to substantially decrease their debt service payments have failed,
and recent attempts to finally resolve the debt problem through the HIPC
Initiative are not very promising either, the report says. This is because the
Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, even in its enhanced form,
provides an insufficient reduction of debt levels. The remaining debt burden,
combined with a decrease of official development assistance (ODA) and a limited
flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), precludes a much-needed increase in
financial resources and thereby impedes much higher levels of investments in
the economic and social infrastructure of the LDCs.
http://www.unctad.org/en/press/pr2865en.htm
Globalization
must work for the poor
Calling
on rich countries to practice what they preach, Leif Pagrotsky, Sweden's
Minister for Trade, told the Second Global Forum on Human Development in Rio de
Janeiro last week that globalization must work for the poor and rich countries
must drop barriers that restrict imports from developing countries. He called
on political leaders in the rich countries "to develop policies and take
initiatives that will stop the exclusion of developing countries. We must be
honest in our arguments and show solidarity in our decisions. This is our moral
imperative but it is also in our self-interest. I want the European Union to
take a global lead."
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2000/00-95e.shtml
The African Development Fund
(ADF) has approved a US $9.3 million loan to finance the third phase of a
project to strengthen Guinea's health system.
"The objective of the
project is to help upgrade the state of health of Guinean populations in
general, and mother and child health in particular," the ADF said. The
project aims to improve access to health services in the suburbs of Conakry,
Tougue, Gaoual and Koundara
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ROME,
October 15, 2000 - On the eve of the UN’s World Food Day, the head of the
United Nations World Food Programme called on the international and
humanitarian communities to work together toward the simple, practical
solutions that will end the scourge of global hunger.
WFP
Executive Director Catherine Bertini said it is now possible to envision a
world without hunger, because the resources, the political will and a broad
public interest are beginning to converge with low-cost technologies for the
benefit of the countless poor and hungry people around the globe.
Bertini
cited the Internet as an example of the revolutionary, cost-effective
technology that can be used in the campaign to end world hunger. She said that
more than 100 million clicks on the Hunger Site since 1 June 1999 demonstrate
just how successful the Internet has been as the means to informing people about
hunger issues.
http://www.wfp.org/prelease/2000/101500.htm
Winterthur,
Switzerland. The world needs to unite for a massive effort against diseases of
poverty, said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health
Organization at a meeting of organizations active in the fight against these
diseases world-wide.
"A
few main diseases, such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and childhood
killers, plus reproductive health conditions, are directly biting into the
economic growth of poor countries. There is increasing recognition of the sheer
difficulty faced by developing nations as they seek to counter these health
threats," Dr Brundtland said. She said that a number of effective health
interventions that drastically reduce mortality of main killers exist.
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-63.html
Zurich,
Switzerland - To help further the eradication of polio in war-torn Somalia,
Martina Hingis, number one ranked women’s tennis player, and Rotary clubs in
Switzerland announced their donations to the World Health Organization (WHO) to
supply much needed surveillance equipment, training and transportation for
health workers.
Dr
Heinrich Walti, past Rotary District Governor, has presented a cheque of US$
200 000 to WHO during the SwissCom Challenge tennis tournament in Kloten,
Switzerland on behalf of the Rotary clubs of Switzerland.
Five-time
Grand Slam winner and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for polio eradication, Ms Martina
Hingis presented a cheque for US$ 35 000. As part of a public awareness
campaign called "Match Point Against Polio", Ms Hingis is raising
funds, public awareness and participation to eradicate the disease.
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-66.html
Rotary clubs to send wheelchairs to thousands in Latin
America
EVANSTON, Illinois, USA — 23 October 2000. Rotary clubs throughout Latin
America and the Wheelchairs for the World Foundation have announced that they
will work together to provide wheelchairs to nearly 5,000 men, women and
children in countries throughout the region.
In developing countries, only a small percentage of
those who need wheelchairs own or even have access to them, forcing dependence
upon family and friends to get around. For others, the only way is to crawl. It
is estimated that at least 20 million children and adults worldwide need a
wheelchair but cannot afford one.
In 2001, Rotary clubs in Latin America will work with
the Wheelchairs for the World Foundation to deliver 120 wheelchairs to each of
the 32 states of Mexico and to each of the other 18 countries in Latin America.
Rotary clubs will identify recipients in their regions and then provide the
grassroots effort to personally deliver the wheelchairs to those in need, providing
them mobility and a sense of hope.
http://www.rotary.org/press/releases/77.htm
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The United Nations run a
five-day immunisation campaign on 16-20 October in 14 West African countries,
the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported in Geneva.
UN agencies aim at immunising
up to 70 million children in Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone
and Togo. A second-round of immunisations will take place in Cameroon, Chad and
Cote d'Ivoire in November.
Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (Msf)
Exploratory Mission Arrives In Gulu
Gulu/Kampala/New York: October 19, 2000 -- Yesterday a
five persons team of the international medical aid organization Doctors Without
Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) arrived in Gulu, north Uganda, to assist
in the recent outbreak of Ebola. The team is composed of three medical staff
and two logisticians. An assessment of the situation is underway. Depending on
the findings, the initial activities will probably focus on case finding, case
isolation, contact training and education. All actions will be undertaken in
close coordination with the Ugandan Ministry of Health and the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
Another three MSF members are being sent to Kampala to
reinforce the staff there. In addition, 2,000 kilograms of material has been
sent to the field including hemorrhagic kits composed of sample gathering
equipment, medicines (to treat the side effects of the fever), and protective
clothing.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/pr/pr105.htm
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International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) observed the International Day for Natural Disaster
Reduction 2000 at the UN Conference Centre (UNCC), Bangkok, on Wednesday, 11
October 2000 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am.
The theme for this year, "Disaster Prevention,
Education and Youth" is promoting a shift from a culture of reaction to
disasters to a culture of prevention. Global commemoration activities aimed to
increase awareness of policy-makers and the public about the necessity for
education programmes in disaster prevention and management.
http://www.unescap.org/unis/N_17_00.htm
Vienna,
Austria, October 2000: A visit of the Chilean delegation headed by H.E.
Mr.Alvaro Diaz, Deputy Minister of Economic affairs, resulted in good prospects
for closer cooperation between UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Office) and
Chile in programmes related to environmental protection. Mr. Diaz presented the
Government's intention to establish a network on cleaner production technology
in Latin America.
http://www.unido.org/periodical.cfm?did=331389&pername=UNIDOScope
Hoping to gain the high ground
on climate change, the German government announced new steps that are aimed at
making sure the country fulfills its pledge to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions 21 percent from 1990 levels by 2010, as agreed to in the Kyoto
climate change treaty. Measures passed include support for the
development of clean energy and efficient cars, a nationwide plan to renovate
old buildings with better heating and insulation systems, and the setting of
voluntary targets for emissions reductions by German industry.
Britain is also on course to
meet its Kyoto commitments, though a study released in these days predicted
that the 15-member European Union as a whole is likely to miss its Kyoto target
for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. An international negotiating
meeting on implementation of the Kyoto Protocol will take place next month in
The Hague, Netherlands.
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=8601
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=8582
Seven of the world's major
corporations committed themselves to making significant reductions in their
greenhouse gas emissions, a voluntary effort to combat climate change ahead of
any government requirements. Working in partnership with the nonprofit
Environmental Defense, the companies -- DuPont, BP, Royal Dutch/Shell Group,
Suncor Energy, Ontario Power Generation, Alcan Aluminum, and Pechiney SA --
pledged to reduce their combined emissions, estimated at 360 million metric
tons in 1990, to 280 million metric tons by 2010. The companies will
adopt more efficient technologies and trade emission reduction credits amongst
themselves in order to meet their goals. In an unrelated agreement,
Polaroid announced last week that it will cut its carbon dioxide emissions 25
percent from 1994 levels by 2010, similar to commitments made earlier this year
by Johnson & Johnson and IBM, part of a program sponsored by the World
Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/18/business/18GREE.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28424-2000Oct17.html
After years of negotiating,
the U.S. and Russia signed an agreement to protect polar bears in northeastern
Siberia and Alaska. There are an estimated 3,000 polar bears in the
region -- and that number has been growing -- but enviros have been fearful
that the total could decline because ice cover has been shrinking due to global
warming and poaching and commercial hunting have picked up to feed the market
for bear hides and gallbladders. The pact, modeled after a similar one
between the U.S. and Canada, will prohibit commercial hunting and all types of
hunting around polar bears dens, as well as the killing of female bears with
cubs and bears younger than one year, and the use of aircraft, traps, and
snares to hunt bears. Native tribes in both Alaska and Russia are
planning to participate in the conservation plan. Some enviros are
hopeful the agreement could set a precedent. David Cline of the World
Wildlife Fund asked, "If we can have agreement on polar bears, why not on
walrus and other wildlife?"
http://www.adn.com/metro/story/0,2633,203971,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_974000/974529.stm
http://www.gristmagazine.com
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Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates: Rome, 10-12 November
The World Summit of the Nobel Peace Laureates will be held in Rome from
10 to 12 November, sponsored bt the Rome Commune and the Gorbachev Foundation.
The Roman schools will take part to the event with a composition contest on the
theme of peace. On November 10, first day of the event, the students will meet
with Nobel Peace Laureate (1990) Michail Gorbachev. Among the other Nobel Peace
Laureates who will be in Rome in mid-November: José Ramos Horta (1996), Adolfo
Pèrez Esquibel (1980), Shimon Peres (1994), Joseph Rotblat (1995), Lech Walesa
(1983), Frederik W. de Klerk (1993).
The
congress, with the support of the International Committee of the Blue Shield
(ICBS), will address the theme: Prevention of Hazards in Storage Areas. The
aims are to present:
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The consequences for cultural heritage of natural or accidental disasters, or
those arising from armed conflict
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Study cases of preventive measures
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Examples of cooperation between conservation or security specialists and
manufacturers.
Email
William Mourey wmourey@cav-recherches.org
Website: http://www.cav-recherches.org
by Robert Muller
“It is good that US citizens
are beginning to react to the colossal overconsumption in their country,
fostered in millions of ways by business, marketing, advertisement and the
media.
“A 1995 survey by the Merck
Family Fund found that since the decade begun, 28% of respondents have
voluntarily reduced their income. Two-third said that they did so to reduce
stress, increase personal time and restore balance in their lives.
“Trends Research Institute
named simplicity one of the 1997’s top ten trends. “Never before, in the
Institute’s 17 years of trend tracking, has a societal trend grown so quickly,
spread so broadly and been embraced so eagerly,” TRI reports.
“Unfortunately, big business knows that and is now
targeting the developing countries for western consumption habits through
marketing and advertisement which are very cheap in these countries”.
http://www.worldpeace2000.org/ideas/
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