Good News Agency – Year II, n° 7
Weekly - Year II, number 7
– 6 April 2001
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
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 over 1,900 editorial offices of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an e-mail address in 22 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, and it is also available in its web site:
It is a free of
charge service of Associazione Culturale
dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered non-profit
educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979. The Association operates
for the development of consciousness and supports the activities of the Lucis
Trust, Radio For Peace International, The Club of Budapest and other
organizations promoting a culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective
based on unity within diversity and on sharing. Via Antagora
10, 00124 Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
Contents:
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Disarmament
and peace
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Health
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Development
cooperation
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Science
and technology
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Economy
and development
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Environment and wildlife
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Solidarity
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Culture
and education
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(TOP)
Vienna, Austria - IAEA ( International Atomic Energy Agency) Director General M. El Baradei said that progress towards a nuclear-weapon-free world’s depend on a fundamental change in concept of ‘security’, and expressed his views pointing to four goal efforts: 1) accelerated and tangible progress towards nuclear disarmament; 2) the development of an alternative system of collective security that does not depend on nuclear deterrence; 3) universal adherence to the non-proliferation regime, with a credible international verification system adequately financed and supported by the Security Council; 4) effective national and international system for the physical protection of nuclear material and the combating of illicit trafficking.
Full text at http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/Statement
Projects in the areas of
radiation safety, nuclear safety, radioactive waste safety and
related IAEA actions, IAEA meetings, International convenctions and
report at last issue of IAEA News Briefs, vol.16, february/march 2001 on
the internet http://www.IAEA.C
(TOP)
President of IFAD awarded with high decoration from
Repubblica Italiana
Rome, March 27 - The President
of IFAD, Mr. Fawzi Hamad Al Sultan, a national of Kuwait was conferred the
decoration of "Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica
Italiana" by the Ambassador of Italy to the United Nations Agencies in
Rome, H.E. Raffaele Berlenghi on behalf of the President of the Republic of
Italy, H.E. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The Ambassador announced that the award is in
recognition of Mr Al Sultan’s successful endeavours to improve the lives of the
rural poor during his eight years as President of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Mr Al Sultan has served as President of IFAD for two four-year terms
which end on 31 March 2001. His tenure has been marked by a major upward swing
in the global war on poverty.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2001/01-12.htm
23 March - The Zambezi River
Authority (ZRA) and three international donor agencies signed a three-year
agreement worth US $3.7 million for the development of an integrated water
resource strategy for the Zambezi River Basin, PANA reported on Thursday. The
report quoted official sources as saying that in terms of the agreement signed
in Lusaka on Tuesday, the ZRA would implement the project on behalf of the
SADC-Water Sector Coordinating Unit, the Swedish International Development
Authority, the Danish International Development Agency and the Norwegian Agency
for Development Cooperation. The overall aim of the project is to develop an
integrated management strategy to facilitate cross-sectoral planning and
co-ordination of the use of water within the basin.
The project also aims at
improving water availability and protection against floods and droughts, the
report said, adding that the agreement is expected to encourage the use of
water in the Zambezi river basin in a co-ordinated and equitable manner to
avoid possible conflict of interests between local, subregional and regional
users.
28 March - The Executive Board
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved in principle a three-year
arrangement for Ethiopia under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF)
for SDR 87 million (about US$112 million) to support the government's
2000/01-2002/03 economic program.
Further details: http://www.kabissa.org/newsletter.php?id=212
Paris/Nairobi, March 19 : A
new breed of energy entrepreneurs is set to deliver clean, modern and
affordable energy to poverty-stricken rural areas of Africa and South America
with support announced today by the United Nations Foundation (UNF). The UNF
will invest US$ 4.2 million in the successful United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) African Rural Energy Enterprise Development initiative (AREED)
and begin a similar program in Brazil. The investment comes on top of UNF's
initial US$2 million AREED investment in 1999.
UNEP's Executive Director,
Klaus Toepfer acknowledged the UNF support, saying the investment is "a
key element" in UNEP's push to promote sustainable energy -
renewable energy and energy efficient technologies that link economic
development to both local environmental improvement and reductions in global
greenhouse gas emissions.
(TOP)
London: delivery of low emission buses
London, UK, March 30 -:
“London is to take delivery of three hydrogen fuel cell buses”, Transport
Minister Lord Whitty announced, “and the government will contribute towards the
cost of this project.” The London trial will form part of a much wider project
involving 27 fuel cell buses. The other eight EU cities are Reykjavik,
Stockholm, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Barcelona and Porto.
The London buses will be
delivered in 2003 and will be operated with a dedicated hydrogen refuelling
facility to be provided by BP.
TfL(Transport for London), the executive body of the Greater London Authority, which runs London Buses, expects to use more fuel cell buses following the end of the trials in 2005. Adoption of the buses on a more extensive route network will depend on developing a wider hydrogen fuel infrastructure.
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-30-11.html
Historical studies of recycled uranium released
Washington, USA, March 29 - The Department of Energy
today released nine site specific studies that examined the historical movement
of recycled uranium throughout the Department's complex. The reports provide a
general understanding of the flow and characteristics of recycled uranium at
individual sites. They identify where recycled uranium and trace amounts of
other radioactive contaminants could have concentrated or been released,
including historical periods, activities and concentrations, which may be
useful for identifying potential worker exposure. http://tis.eh.doe.gov/legacy/releases/pr01045.html
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, April 2 - Malaysia assured a sceptical palm oil market (stocks
reached a record 1.52 million tonnes last November due to poor exports: Malaysia
is in the world's largest producer) with a plan to use crude palm oil as fuel
was realistic and that the country's largest power generator had already
started to do so.
Primary Industries
Minister Lim Keng Yaik said the government together with state-owned Tenaga
Nasional Bhd would officially launch burning crude palm oil as fuel on April 12
at the power station in the northern
state of Penang.
http://www.planet.ark.com.au/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10338&newsDate=2-Apr-2001
(TOP)
UNDP approves support of US
$ 1.5 million for HIV/AIDS programme in India
New Delhi, 26 March - The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) has committed support of US $ 1.5 million (Rs. 70
million approximately) to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) for
prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. The UNDP-supported initiative will focus on
creating an environment for changes in behaviour, policy and programming,
important requisites for an effective response to the HIV epidemic. The project
is a joint initiative between the Government, Non-Government Organisations
(NGOs), UNAIDS and the corporate sector through the Confederation of Indian
Industries. The UNAIDS contribution of US $ 100,000 will especially focus on
greater involvement of persons living with HIV/AIDS.
http://www.undp.org.in/NEWS/PRESS/press206.htm
Democratic
Republic of the Congo: ICRC unites 137 unaccompanied children with their
families
Geneva, 23 March - Ninety-nine unaccompanied children
and teenagers aged between one and 16 were flown today from the eastern town of
Goma to the Congolese capital Kinshasa under the auspices of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC-chartered Boeing 737 then headed
back to Goma carrying 38 other children who were to rejoin their families in
the east of the country. Most of the children concerned had been separated from
their families since the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
flared up again in August 1998. Since January 2000, the ICRC has reunited 541
Congolese children with their families. It has also repatriated 640 children to
Rwanda.
http://www.icrc.org/icrceng.nsf/
23 March - The European
Commission (EC) said in a statement on Thursday that it was giving Mozambique
US $58 million to aid the government's fight against poverty. The statement
said the money would contribute "to the continuity of the positive results
attained in the country's economic and social areas, particularly actions
contributing significantly to the reduction of
poverty".
The first US $22 million would
be available immediately, while the remaining US $36 million dollars would be
disbursed between June and July, the Commission said. Meanwhile news reports
added that the European Investment Bank would also write off US $17.5 million
of Mozambique's debt under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
initiative.
Meanwhile, AIM reported last
Friday that the international community had disbursed some US $11 million so
far in response to the Mozambican government's appeal for aid intended for the
flood victims in the central regions. In February the government estimated it
would need about US $36.5 million for flood victims in the provinces of Manica,
Sofala, Tete and Zambezia, and for the repair of essential infrastructure.
Sierra Leone: l’ospedale di Bo riceve
medicinali per un valore di 76.000 dollari
23
marzo – L’Agenzia d’Informazione della Sierra Leone ha reso noto mercoledì che
l’ospedale governativo di Bo ha ricevuto medicinali per un valore di circa
76.ooo dollari donati dal Medical Research Centre.
Il
Primario, dr. Amara Jambai, ha affermato che i medicinali sono già stati
distribuiti a 34 unità sanitarie del distretto di Bo, nella parte meridionale
del paese. I farmaci, pagati dal Dipartimento Britannico per lo Sviluppo
Internazionale e dall’MSF del Belgio, saranno venduti sulla base del puro
prezzo di costo..
World leaders in health
philanthropy will convene in London for an Inaugural Global Health Philanthropy
Summit, to be held at the Royal College of Physicians from 9-11 May 2001. The
Academy for International Health Philanthropy's Summit will address how philanthropists
can make a greater and lasting impact on world health by pooling knowledge and
by more effective targeting of their support. Registrations applications are
available at the AIHP website or by e-mail:aihp-uk@healthphilanthropy.org
http://www.healthphilanthropy.org
(TOP)
Access to TB cure a human
rights imperative
TB and HIV Linked, Joint
Efforts Needed
Geneva, 22 March – Joint efforts are needed to confront
tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, according to Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland,
Director-General of the World Health Organization. TB is a leading killer of
people living with HIV and it is highest in countries with the highest rates of
HIV.
"Not only is reducing
the TB and HIV burden a health imperative - it is fundamental to human rights. TB
and HIV are both enhanced by poverty, homelessness, substance abuse,
psychological stress, poor nutritional status, crowded living conditions,"
Dr Brundtland added, referring to a new report on TB entitled "A human
rights approach to tuberculosis".
The new report was released
in the lead-up to World TB Day 2001, on 24 March. Its theme, 'DOTS: TB cure for
all', calls for equitable and discrimination-free access to adequate treatment
and services for anyone who has TB.
http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/pressarc01/TB_220301.html
UN agencies launch new plan
to halve mortality of measles, a major childhood killer
Geneva/New York 29 March – In a concerted move against one of the world’s deadliest childhood diseases, the World Health
Organization (WHO) and UNICEF today announced a new initiative designed to
halve global measles deaths by 2005. Measles accounts for the majority of the
estimated 1.6 million annual deaths due to childhood vaccine-preventable
diseases. Failure to deliver at least one dose of measles vaccine to all
infants remains the primary reason for the high incidence and mortality rates
of measles.
The Global Measles
Strategic Plan calls on countries to assess progress on measles control,
identify reasons for low routine coverage, develop a three to five year plan
for measles mortality reduction and fully implement the recommended strategies.
The plan has been developed by UNICEF and WHO in cooperation with the United
States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), numerous experts
worldwide and several other partners. It has the advantage of being a flexible
framework that can be adapted to the specific needs and immediate goals of
individual countries.
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2001/en/pr2001-16.html
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awards $10 million to
develop new diagnostics for tuberculosis
On the eve of World TB Day (24 March), the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $10 million to the UNDP/World Bank/WHO
Special Programme for Research and Development in Tropical Diseases (TDR) at
the World Health Organization (WHO) to facilitate the development of new tests
for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), a disease responsible for some 2
million deaths each year in developing countries, half a million of which occur
in persons with HIV infection.
The five-year grant, supporting the Tuberculosis
Diagnostic Initiative, will speed up efforts to design new approaches to
detecting TB among patients with symptoms such as cough, so that they can have
access to curative treatment. Work is also under way on simple and accurate
methods to detect bacterial resistance to treatment quickly and to uncover
latent infection or incipient disease in persons without symptoms.
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2001/en/pr2001-15.html
Geneva,
march 28 (ips) - Poor
countries and transnational pharmaceutical firms are wrangling over the
question of access to inexpensive medications, a controversy that has entangled
the two international bodies governing health and trade, the WHO and the WTO,
respectively.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) acknowledge that global debate is heating up in regard
to the compatibility of trade regulations and the ethical principles concerning
the right to medical treatment, especially in those countries hard hit by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic. The contradictions entailed will be on the table for all to
see during the World Health Assembly, May 14-22 in Geneva, because Brazil and
South Africa are going to demand that the WHO member nations emit a declaration
in favour of low-cost access to drugs for treating specific diseases.
The Brazilian and South African governments are
currently involved in cases brought before national and international tribunals,
where they defend what they insist is their right to protect the access of
their poorest populations to economically- priced medicine.
27 March - Three-fourths of
Americans want to know if their food contains genetically engineered
ingredients, according to a poll released yesterday by the Pew Initiative on
Food and Biotechnology. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents did not want
such ingredients in the food supply, period. However, when they were told
that the ingredients were already in many food products on grocery store
shelves, nearly half of the respondents said the products must therefore be
safe. Despite pressure from environmental and consumer groups, the U.S.
has said it won't require labeling of genetically engineered foods. Labeling is
already required in Japan, South Korea, Australia, and most of Europe.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/550142.asp
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/860106
26 March - Some farmers in the
U.S. are joining environmental and consumer groups in opposing genetically
engineered crops, adding strength to campaigns to have the crops regulated more
tightly. More than 40 state bills have been introduced this year to
regulate the crops or the labeling of foods made from them. In North
Dakota, a bill to ban the planting of genetically modified wheat for two years
has already passed the state House and is now before the Senate.
Although many farmers favor
genetically modified crops because they have traits like strong pest
resistance, some farmers fear they won't be able to sell the crops
abroad. Europe and Japan are strictly regulating such crops and consumers
outside the U.S. are avoiding foods that contain genetically engineered
ingredients.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/24/health/24DAKO.html
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/food.stm
22 March - The biotech giant
Monsanto confirmed accounts this week that it will shelve its first genetically
modified crop and stop selling the six-year-old NewLeaf potato to farmers in
the U.S. and Canada. The potato, which contains a gene that produces a
toxin to repel the Colorado potato beetle, was unable to capture more than 5
percent of the potato-seed market. Farmers were lukewarm on the product
because of high prices, and food companies steered clear, with consumers
growing increasingly concerned about whether genetically modified foods are
safe to eat. Last year, for example, McDonald's told its french-fry
suppliers not to use the NewLeaf potato.
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB985128671233949916.htm
23 March - The United Nations
Children's Fund began its final round to vaccinate some 330,000 Sierra Leonean
children in rebel-held areas of the country, the agency's communication
officer, Jagmeet Uppal, told IRIN on Friday.
The day's effort began in the
districts of Kono, Kailahun, Port Loko, Tonkolili, Bombali, Koinadugu and
Kambia. UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International and USAID provided the money and
technical support to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. UNAMSIL provided
logistics.
The effort, which began in
1998, had been possible because of the "very close coordination" of
RUF leaders, Joanna Van Gerpen, the UNICEF representative in Sierra Leone, told
reporters in Geneva on Tuesday. The RUF allowed government health workers and
over 1,000 volunteers into the north, she said, as UNAMSIL troops provided
security. Each child must get at least four doses of vaccine to be fully
covered.
23 March - Bo Government
Hospital has received drugs worth some US $76,000 donated by the Medical
Research Centre, the Sierra Leone News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The principal medical officer,
Dr Amara Jambai, said that the consignment had already been distributed to 34
health units in Bo District in the south of the country. The medicines - paid
for by the British Department for International Development and MSF-Belgium -
will be sold on a cost-recovery basis.
19 March - With some 8.4
million people threatened with a deadly epidemic of meningococcal meningitis - the
Ethiopian Red Cross has mobilized thousands of volunteers to begin a major
social mobilization campaign on the disease, and to make sure those at risk are
vaccinated. "There is serious cause for alarm about the spread of this
epidemic. While to date there have been 1,700 cases reported and 140 deaths
confirmed, this is probably a serious underestimate of the reality on the
ground. Ethiopian Ministry of Health figures that 8.4 million people could be
at risk are very realistic. It is vital that we act now," said Dr. Bradley
Hersh, a senior medical epidemiologist with the International Federation. The
group most at risk is between the age of two and thirty years old.
(TOP)
Melbourne, Australia, March 28
(ENS) - Two new projects expected to reduce greenhouse emissions by more than three
million tonnes over five years have won A$26 million (US$12.84 million) in
support from the Australian government's Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-29-10.html
(TOP)
Sierra Gorda (Mexico) and Waterberg (South Africa)
join world network of UNESCO biosphere reserves
Paris, March 22 - Two new sites, Sierra Gorda in
Mexico and Waterberg in South Africa, have been named as Biosphere Reserves by
the Bureau of UNESCO’s intergovernmental Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, during a
meeting at UNESCO Headquarters (March 21 to 23).
Approved, appropriately enough, on World Water Day
which is celebrated on March 22 every year, the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve is
located in the Northern Province of South Africa. The 415,000 hectare Waterberg
serves as a natural water reservoir for the arid Northern Province. It
is an area of low mountain ranges and escarpments with poor soils and a
relatively low level of economic activity.
The 400,000 hectare Biosphere Reserve of Sierra Gorda
is located in the State of Queretaro, Northern Mexico. Its geographic
location has made it the habitat of plants and animals which are typical of the
mountains of North America, Meso-America and South America, thus combining to
make Sierra Gorda one of the most biologically diverse places of Mexico. Its
population of 90,000 inhabitants is mainly engaged in large-scale cattle
raising, seasonal agriculture and forestry.
The two new biosphere reserves are now part of the
World Network of 393 sites in 94 countries.
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2001/01-46e.shtml
The way Italy has decided to organise the
elimination of used lubrificants from its country is generating considerable
interest in Europe, pursuing a target which is at the same time environmental
and industrial.
To make it compulsory for the companies that produce,
sell and use lubricants to cooperate in favour of the environment, is the base
point on which the legislator established the Mandatory Consortium of Used Oil
in 1982. Operating since 1984, the Consortium collects waste oils and arranges
for its appropriate reutilization, transforming it into new lubricants (90%)
with chemical and physical characteristics similar to new base oils and into
energy. It is a non-profit Consortium of no extra cost to the Government, even
though it carries out an activity of considerable public interest, ensuring the
collection and recycling of a potentially highly dangerous special waste
product. The results of the collection (90% of recoverable oil), and the very
high percentage of regeneration, make it an “avant-garde” structure in Europe.
COOU
Ufficio Stampa: dantimi@eprcomunicazione.it
European Union elevates role of biodiversity in policy
making
Brussels, Belgium, March 28 - The European Commission says a series of action plans
adopted today will put protection of biological diversity at the heart of
European Union agricultural, fishery and development policies. A rich
biodiversity is important because it provides the raw materials society needs.
It is essential for the long term sustainability of agriculture and fisheries,
and it is the basis for many industrial processes and the production of new
medicines. The aim of today's action plans is to stop losses in wildlife,
ecosystems, varieties of crops, domestic animals and fish. The plans go beyond
traditional natural conservation policies because they address specific areas
where biodiversity loss has been felt most acutely. The plans will be followed
up by performance evaluations to monitor their effectiveness.
from Environment News
Service (ENS)
Grand Canyon, Arizona, March
29 (ENS) - For the first time in 15 years, a California condor has laid an egg
in the wild. Although the egg was found broken, biologists say this first
nesting attempt illustrates the success of the captive breeding program that
removed the last California condor from the wild in 1986. Meanwhile, five more
young California condors are scheduled to be released into the wild next week.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-29-06.html
29 March - A $32 million project
to restore marine resources in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand was
launched yesterday by the U.N. Environment Programme. Seven Southeast
Asian nations and donors from developed countries finalized an agreement last
November to fund the five-year plan, which is intended to help some 270 million
people whose livelihoods have been affected by declining fish stocks, damaged
coral reefs, and disappearing mangrove forests.
Overfishing, pollution, and
coastal development have led to the problems.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/03/28/asia.environment.ap/index.html
East Haddam, CT, March 19 -
The Humane Society of the United States(HSUS), the nation's largest animal
protection organization, and its youth education division, the National
Association for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE), invite teenagers to
visit Humane Teen, the world's first animal protection web site designed
exclusively for teens. Teens can log onto the site directly at www.humaneteen.org or link to it via
The HSUS' or NAHEE's online sites.
Humane Teen features true
stories of young activists and teen clubs making a difference for animals and
the environment…
Washington, DC, 19 March --
The United Nations Foundation (UNF) announced today funding for a pioneering
project aimed at reversing the decline of the world's coral reefs.
The International Coral Reef
Action Network (ICRAN), which has secured up to $10 million from the UN
Foundation, the largest to date in the Foundation's environment portfolio, will
support "flagship" coral reef management demonstration sites in four
Regional Seas: the wider Caribbean, East Africa, East Asia and the South
Pacific. These sites will become blueprints for managing threatened coral reefs
worldwide, protecting them from over-fishing, pollution, oil spills and growing
coastal populations.
Kiwayu, Kenya – Julie Church
is managing a WWF educational project in the Kenya’s Kiunga Reserve, 250 km2 on
eastcoast, about the women independence, their 80 children’s education (WWW
provides the first school books) and the village community – 400 inhabitants –
environmental education (the heart of the WWF camp is the Education Centre)
about the consequences of over-fishing and too intensive deforestation.
The women of Kiwayu are making
money - U$ 65 a month’s, more than the
men earn by fishing – from the recycling handiwork of the sea-shore waste
–become key rings, mobiles, serviette holders, fridge magnets - and benefiting
at the same time the female turtles who come here to nesting and the freshly
batched turtles that have to reach the ocean.
WWF Panda SA Zurich
China, March 24 - The second seminar on
enterprises engagement into environmental protection (the first was held in Beijing in 1999) will be held in Shenzhen from May 31 to June 2,
according to the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).
The organization
will try to give advice and information, from experts attending the seminar,
about how to encourage enterprises to engage in environmental protection and
expand the financing channel, said Yu Dehui, an official with SEPA.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200103/24/eng20010324_65845.html
(TOP)
"Basketball Without
Borders" NBA Stars to Conduct Camp for Kids from Former Yugoslavia
United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), FIBA, the
National Basketball Association (NBA), Benetton and Blu Team up for basketball
camp
Vienna, 26 March – Nine NBA players, led by veterans Vlade Divac of the
Sacramento Kings and a native of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Toni
Kukoc of the Atlanta Hawks and a native of Croatia, will conduct a basketball
camp in Treviso, Italy June 29 – July 2 for young players (aged 12-14) from Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia and the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, it was announced today by NBA Commissioner David Stern.
"The NBA is proud to work with the United Nations to promote goodwill
around the world and to use the sport of basketball as a common language for
global peace, friendship and sportsmanship," said Stern. The three-day
event, "Basketball without Borders," ("Košarka bez
granica") also will include seminars designed to promote leadership,
conflict resolution and living a healthy life without drugs as part of the
celebration of the United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse (June
26, 2001).
http://www.undcp.org/press_release_2001-03-26_1.html
UN in Vienna Seeking
Nominees for Civil Society Award
Vienna, 21 March - In its continued effort to mobilize
global solutions and new partnerships with civil society in the fight against
drug abuse, crime and terrorism, the United Nations in Vienna is again calling
for nominations of individuals and organizations that are doing outstanding
work to build societies free from the evils of drugs and crime. Eligible
candidates will be considered for the annual UN Vienna Civil Society Award, inaugurated with the support of the Austrian
Government and the City of Vienna…
Those selected will receive their awards -- consisting
of a medal, a certificate and a share of $100,000 in prize money -- at a
ceremony in Vienna later this year. In December last year, the United Nations
in Vienna, the Austrian Government and the City of Vienna honoured two
individuals from Thailand and the United Kingdom and two organizations from
Colombia and Chad for their outstanding contributions.
http://www.undcp.org/press_release_2001-03-21_1.html
UNESCO to continue mobilization in favour of
Afghanistan
Paris, March 27
- UNESCO is determined to pursue the mobilization in favour of
Afghanistan’s heritage, despite the destruction of the Buddha statues of Bamiyan by
the Taliban, focusing its future action on the safeguarding of Afghanistan’s remaining Islamic and pre-Islamic heritage,
maintaining dialogue, pursuing discussions of a religious nature favourable to
heritage protection and working to develop legal standards pertaining to the
concept of cultural crime.
At a press conference he hosted this morning, UNESCO
Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and his special envoy to Afghanistan, Pierre
Lafrance, spoke both of the latter’s mission to Kandahar, Kabul, Islamabad and Doha and
about UNESCO’s future action.
Mr Matsuura referred to the wave of indignation raised
by the destruction of Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic heritage, stressing that “this general mobilization in favour of cultural heritage
has transcended the boundaries between nationalities and religion”. He also highlighted the fact that many Moslem states
refused “to see their religion associated to this fanatical gesture.”
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2001/01-48e.shtml
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