Good News Agency – Year III, n° 13
Weekly - Year III, number 13
– 28 June 2002
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
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and education
Special
representative for children and armed conflict visits Ingushetiya
20 June - The Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara
A. Otunnu, arrived in the Northern Caucasus Tuesday, after meeting officials in
Moscow. He visited camps of the internally displaced Chechen people in
Ingushetiya and sites of spontaneous settlements. Mr Otunnu talked to the
internally displaced children and families and he toured health centres,
schools and sports facilities and witnessed cultural activities carried out by
the displaced populations. The Special Representative was also able to observe
the humanitarian activities of the United Nations agencies and various
non-governmental organizations which are assisting the internally displaced
families. (…)
In the context of his mandate,
the Special Representative is in the Russian Federation to promote the
protection, rights, and well-being of children affected by war. One of
the main objectives of the mission is to assess first-hand and seek to focus
attention on the situation of children affected by the conflict in Chechnya.
The Special Representative
serves as international advocate for children affected by armed conflict by
promoting standards and measures for their protection in times of war, as well
as their healing and social reintegration in the aftermath of conflict.
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/NewsRoom?OpenFrameSet
Colombo, 20 June - Sri Lanka's
Tamil Tiger rebels assured the United Nations Children's Fund, that it will not
recruit anyone under the age of 18 years in their armed forces.
This verbal agreement is in
compliance with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
and its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. The
Optional Protocol prevents the recruitment of children under age 18 in to armed
forces.
Under this common
understanding, UNICEF would maintain a central information system of all
confirmed cases of under age recruitment for a follow up during regular
discussions between UNICEF and the LTTE (Liberation Tamily Tigers Eelam). (…)
While actively advocating for
the prevention of under age recruitment by the LTTE, UNICEF is also engaged in
the cases of children who have been already recruited. The organisation's
efforts have resulted in successful release of over sixty children from the
LTTE. However, much more needs to be done.
http://www.unicef.org/media/newsnotes/02nn21soldiers.htm
Special
Committee on Israeli practices to visit Egypt, Jordan and Syria
18 June - The Special
Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the
Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories will visit
Egypt, Jordan and Syria from 23 June to 6 July 2002. The Committee plans to
hold hearings in Cairo between 24 and 27 June; in Amman from 29 June to 1 July,
and in Damascus from 4 to 5 July.
Since its establishment in
December 1968, the panel has repeatedly been denied cooperation by the
Government of Israel or access to the occupied territories. The Committee has
none the less benefited from the cooperation and information provided by
representatives from the Governments of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The
information gathered during these hearings, from witnesses having first-hand
and recent experience of the human rights situation in the occupied
territories, and from Governmental representatives, is taken into account in
the Special Committee's reports to the General Assembly. Information appearing
in the Israeli press and the Arab press published in the occupied territories
is also made available to the Committee. The Committee formulates conclusions
containing its evaluation of the situation as well as recommendations.
The Special Committee was
established by General Assembly resolution 2443 (XXIII). It is composed of
three Member States: Sri Lanka (Chairman), Senegal and Malaysia. (…)
The Special Committee's
mandate was renewed for an additional year on 10 December 2001 by General
Assembly resolution 56/59. The findings of the Special Committee are contained
in its report to the General Assembly; document A/56/491 of 22 October 2001.
The territories to be
considered as occupied territories for the purposes of the Special Committee's
mandate currently are the occupied Syrian Arab Golan, the West Bank (including
East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/NewsRoom?OpenFrameSet
South
Eastern European countries to enhance intelligence sharing on drug trafficking
Vienna, 14 June - The United
Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) has launched a new
project today aimed at strengthening the capacities of South-Eastern European
states in the collection and analyses of criminal intelligence related to drug
trafficking and organized crime (which is partly funded by the Government of
the United Kingdom). At the meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria – attended by representatives
from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and Slovenia – regional crime
experts discussed the status of criminal intelligence analyses in their
respective countries, regional cooperation and expectations from this new
project. (…)
http://www.undcp.org/press_release_2002-06-14_2.html
Afghanistan,
neighbouring countries join counter-narcotic fight
Vienna, 14 June - Afghanistan
and its neighbouring countries have taken new measures against the threat posed
by drug cultivation and trafficking. Today the second phase of the project
aimed at strengthening coordination in one of the largest opium poppy
cultivation and drug-producing regions of the world has been announced. The
project involving the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime
Prevention (ODCCP) in Vienna covers ten countries in Southwest and Central Asia
which are members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). (…)
ECO comprises ten countries:
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan,
Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. All ECO countries are affected by drug
addiction, drug trafficking and related crime and it is the world’s largest
opium-, morphine-, heroin- and cannabis-producing and trafficking region. (…)
http://www.undcp.org/press_release_2002-06-14_3.html
IMF completes sixth review of
Indonesia Program, approves US$358 million disbursement
June 21 - The Executive Board
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed today its sixth review of
Indonesia's performance under a SDR 3.638 billion (about US$4.7 billion)
Extended Fund Facility arrangement (see Press Release No. 00/4). This opens the
way for release of a further SDR 275.24 million (about US$358 million)
from the arrangement, which would bring total disbursements under the program
to SDR 1.987 billion (about US$2.6 billion). (…)
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/nb/2002/NB0251.HTM
June 21 - The Executive Board
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given its final approval of the
three-year arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for
SDR 28 million (about US$36 million) for Albania to support the
government's economic program (see Press Release No. 02/30).
The final decision by the IMF
Executive Board was contingent on the World Bank Executive Board's endorsement
of Albania's Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) today. The decision
will enable Albania to draw SDR 4 million (about US$5 million) under the PRGF
from the IMF immediately.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/nb/2002/NB0252.HTM
21 June - Governments need to
go beyond reliance on their development programmes and start mobilizing popular
political support to achieve progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This was a key
conclusion of a forum on the MDGs that brought together ministers and senior
government officials from 14 eastern and central African countries in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, this week. World leaders endorsed the goals at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, setting
clear targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental
degradation and discrimination against women by 2015. In some countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, more than half the population lives below the poverty line
and fewer than half of adults can read and write.
UNDP is using its global
network to help raise awareness, track progress, and connect countries to the
knowledge and resources needed to achieve the goals. Also participating in the
Addis forum were representatives from civil society, the private sector, the UN
system and the donor community. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
IMF and World Bank support US$
1.1 billion in debt service relief for Mauritania: West African Country reaches
completion point under enhanced HIPC initiative
June 20 - The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank's International Development Association
(IDA) agreed that Mauritania has reached its completion point under the
enhanced framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.1 Mauritania becomes the sixth
country to reach this point (joining Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Mozambique,
Tanzania and Uganda).
Debt service relief under the
enhanced HIPC Initiative from all of Mauritania's creditors will amount to
approximately US$1.1 billion over time (US$622 million in net present value
[NPV] terms). As a result of HIPC assistance, the net present value of
Mauritania's total external debt is reduced by some 50 percent, providing a
good basis for long-term debt sustainability. This, however, will require continued
efforts to monitor the debt level and to apply prudent debt management
policies. (…)
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2002/PR0229.HTM
Geneva, 20 June - The
International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded its 90th annual
Conference today after adopting a series of measures designed to promote a more
rigorous approach to tackling the challenges of globalization and create an
"anchor" for personal security through poverty reduction, job
creation and improved workplace health and safety.
The ILO's annual International Labour Conference, which groups
governments, workers and employers representing the Organization's 175 member
States, was marked by what ILO Director-General Juan Somavia called an
"exceptionally rich" discussion surrounding globalization, child
labour and other issues and saw a "broad and steadily deepening consensus
over the goal of decent work for all". (…)
The Conference also debated
the situation in the occupied Arab territories and heard pledges in support of
enhancing ILO efforts to create jobs in the area and promote dialogue between
Palestinians and Israelis. Mr. Somavia said the ILO would allocate resources
immediately with a view to establishing a Palestinian Fund for Employment and
Social Protection. (…)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2002/31.htm
India to displace Viet Nam as
world's second biggest rice exporter after Thailand
Bangkok, 20 June - Competitive
prices, timely monsoon rains and surplus stocks have set India on course
to become the world's second largest rice exporter this year after Thailand,
the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a new global rice market
report released today.
Lower export prices coupled
with yet another anticipated bumper paddy harvest and the expected surge in
imports by Indonesia and China, will enable the South Asian nation to
displace Viet Nam as the number two rice exporting nation, FAO's Rice
Market Monitor forecasts. Despite a projected decline of nearly 2 million
tonnes in the 2002 paddy harvest, India is estimated to more than double its
previous year exports to 3.6 million tonnes in 2002, says the report. (…)
FAO has revised upward rice production
estimates for Asia following expectations of timely arrival of monsoon rains
and latest predictions of a much weaker 'El Nino' than forecast earlier this
year.
However, fears of adverse
weather have led the Government of Indonesia to double its rice import
requirements in 2002 to 3 million tonnes over last year.
Full text of the report:
http://www.fao.org/es/ESC/esce/escb/rice/monitore/ricemone.htm
International
Conference on Mountains in Adelboden, Switzerland says mountain people should
have better access to markets and financial services
Adelboden, Switzerland, 20
June - The international community should pay more attention to the plight of
millions of people in mountain areas, according to the final declaration of a
four-day international conference, which ended today.
Mountain
people are often neglected and exposed to poverty, hunger, social and political
marginalization and conflicts, according to the Adelboden Declaration, adopted
by some 200 representatives of mountain people, governments, international
organizations and civil society groups from about 50 countries. The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 770 million people or 12
percent of the world population live in mountain areas. (…)
Because globalization has
often had negative effects on mountain areas, the declaration calls for the
removal of market distortions. The declaration says mountain people should have
better access to markets and financial services and should receive fair
compensation for environmental and other goods and services. (…) The conference
noted the key role of agriculture for the development of mountain areas and
called for more economic diversification.
In order to improve the living
conditions of people in mountain areas, the declaration called for recognition
of the rights of local communities, indigenous and tribal people and vulnerable
groups based on their knowledge, natural resources and technologies, property
and access to land. (…)
The results of the conference will be presented at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Johannesburg 26 August - 4
September 2002 and the Bishkek Global Mountain Summit to be held in Kyrgyzstan
in October 2002.
Conference's web site: http://www.sard-m2002.ch/index.htm FAO: http://www.fao.org/
Rome, Monday 17 June - A USD
28.1 million project in the Republic of Haiti – the ‘Productive Initiatives Support
Programme in Rural Areas’ – will receive a USD 21.7 million loan from
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A loan agreement
was signed today at the Fund’s Headquarters by HE Jean Walnard Dorneval,
permanent representative of the Republic of Haïti and Mr. Lennart Båge, President
of IFAD.
The beneficiaries of this
programme will be small farmers, the landless and women and youth. Project
activities will extend to their economic organizations, women’s groups and
microfinance institutions. In a ten year period about 500,000 people directly
or indirectly will benefit from this programme.(…) Specifically the programme
aims to strengthen local and national capacities for development planning and
management with the participation of grass-roots organizations; support
initiatives related to recapitalization of farms, intensifiction and
diversification of agricultural production, sustainable management of natural
resources, processing and marketing of produce, improvement of rural
infrastructure, non-agricultural and service microenterprises; facilitate
sustainable access to financial services by the targeted rural poor and in
particular the most marginal groups. (…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2002/32-02.htm
United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development presents report on Least Developed
Countries for 2002
Geneva, 17 June - Extreme
poverty in the world's 49 least developed countries is getting worse, according
to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) Least
Developed Countries Report 2002. The Report's new estimates show that if
current trends persist, the number of people living on less than $1 a dollar
will rise from 307 million to 420 million by 2015.
The Report identifies the
close link between extreme poverty and primary commodity dependence, asserting
that the poverty trap ensnaring the least developed countries is reinforced by
international trade and finance relationships.
Based on its new analysis of how
extreme poverty falls as private consumption rises, UNCTAD also pinpoints a
hitherto unrecognized opportunity for rapid poverty reduction. Doubling average
household income through sustained economic growth could slash the percentage
of the population subsisting on less than $1 day from 65 per cent to 20 per
cent.
At a time when many
governments are busy preparing poverty reduction strategies, UNCTAD is calling
both for new national policies to increase investment, exports and productive
capacity and for a more supportive international environment. (…)
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/NewsRoom?OpenFrameSet
Business Advisory Council of
SPECA is launched
Geneva, 14 June -
Strengthening economic ties among the Central Asian States and their economic
integration with Europe and Asia would contribute to their transition to a
market economy. International cooperation would also contribute to accelerating
economic development of all the States of Central Asia. To achieve these goals,
the Central Asian countries with the support of the United Nations, have
established the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia
(SPECA). Since its inception in 1998, the Programme has moved towards the
above-mentioned goals. Yet, to be a success, SPECA must be supported by the
business community. (…) When fully operational, the SPECA Council will bring
together authoritative business personalities from SPECA participating States
and from their major trade and economic partners. The Council will work to
strengthen the involvement in SPECA of the private sector by creating
conditions that favour private business. The Council will attract to the region
foreign companies and capital, and will also promote regional goods and
services on the world market. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2002/02opa10e.htm
New York, 21 June - The
Canadian Government has provided $5.5 million (Canadian) to UNICEF to
jump-start a major measles vaccination campaign in Angola, where a recent peace
deal has led to the opening of regions not accessed by aid agencies in years.
Measles is the first cause of
vaccine-preventable mortality in Angola and is one of the leading killers of
Angolan children. The nationwide measles campaign, to be launched late this
summer, will help the Government of Angola, UNICEF and WHO reach a crucial objective:
to reduce the number of measles cases and deaths by at least 75% over the next
5 years.
"This generous gift from
Canada will truly be a life-saver," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director
of UNICEF. "With this measles campaign, millions of children will be
protected from this killer disease -- most for the first time. And millions of
families across Angola will see that peace has real benefits." (…)
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/02pr41canada.htm
ADRA
completes medical facilities in Rwanda
Silver
Spring, Maryland, USA, June 21 - The Adventist Development and Relief Agency
(ADRA) office in Rwanda has completed construction of a new outpatient
dispensary for the hospital that serves more than 91,000 people living in
Mugonero, a community located in the hills at the edge of Lake Kibuye. ADRA
Rwanda also is in the final stage of construction of the hospital’s new kitchen
equipped with outside vents to channel heat from the stoves.
The
new dispensary building includes a laboratory, a reception area, an office and
storage room, an exam room, and three rooms for laboratory testing. In
addition, a patient education room provides an area for community classes about
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other medical conditions. New latrines have been built
near the new dispensary. The Japanese government funded construction of the
dispensary. (…)
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/062102.html
Rotary contribution for a polio-free world
On 21 June, the World Health
Organization declared the European region polio-free. Europe is now
the third world region to be certified polio-free, and Rotary clubs throughout
the world will soon embark on a new drive to raise funds needed to eradicate
polio worldwide by 2005. Yet the greatest threat to a polio-free world is
a US$275 million funding gap. As the leading private sector contributor
to the global effort to eradicate polio, Rotary's 1.2 million members are doing
everything in their power to ensure that nothing derails the dream of a
polio-free world.
Starting July 2002, Rotary
clubs worldwide will reach out to their communities with the goal of raising
US$80 million through 2003. Why polio? Because this disease is preventable,
thanks to the oral polivaccine. Since 1985, Rotary has been raising
funds and providing volunteer support. To date, Rotary has contributed
more than US$462 million for the protection of more than two billion children
in 122 countries.
The benefits of polio
eradication far outweigh the costs. The savings are potentially as high
as US$ 1.5 billion per year worldwide - funds that could be used to address
other public health priorities. The savings in human suffering will be
immeasurable.
UN Population Fund and IFRC
will work to make pregnancy and childbirth safer in disaster situations - World
Refugee Day 2002
United Nations,
New York, 20 June - Refugee women's need for safe birthing and reproductive
health care is a critical humanitarian issue that calls for stepped up relief
efforts and cooperation, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said
today in statements as they marked World Refugee Day by agreeing to boost
cooperation in this area.
Yesterday at a ceremony in
Geneva, the Executive Director of UNFPA, Thoraya Obaid, and the secretary
general of the IFRC, Didier Cherpitel signed a Memorandum of Understanding and
pledged to expand and deepen the organizations' existing relationship. UNFPA is
the world's largest provider of reproductive health assistance, IFRC is the
world's largest humanitarian network. (…)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/2002/pressroom/worldrefugeeday.htm
WFP expands school feeding programme in war-torn Chechnya
Rome, 18 June - Despite the ongoing conflict, the United Nations World
Food Programme announced that it will double its school feeding operation in
war-torn Chechnya starting from September.
(…) It is a high-risk operation. The food is transported into the region
in convoys. Due to security concerns, WFP uses local and international partners
to implement the programme and monitor how the food is distributed and cooked
in each school.
Initial funding for the programme last year came out of a contribution
of 500,000 euros from the European Union. The EU recently agreed to a second
donation of 300,000 euros to fund the expanded programme.
The 1999 conflict has resulted in a massive displacement of the local
population. Out of a total population of less than one million, nearly 118,000
people have fled to the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetia and over 140,000
people are displaced within Chechnya.
Since January 2000, WFP has been providing emergency food aid to over
300,000 displaced Chechens and economically vulnerable people in the North
Caucasus.
WFP assists 35,000 malnourished children affected by political crisis in
Madagascar
Antananarivo - The UN World Food Programme has just started to
distribute emergency food aid to urban centres in Madagascar, to help feed some
35,000 malnourished children affected by the current politico-economic crisis.
Over the coming months, WFP will provide 350 tonnes of Corn Soya Blend -
a highly nutritious mixture to make porridge - enough to feed 18,000 children
in the capital, Antananarivo, as well as 17,000 children in five other major
cities across the country. WFP’s partners include the World Bank, CARE,
SEECALINE, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
In some areas, malnutrition levels among children under five have risen
up to 45 percent as a result of the crisis that has gripped the country
following the presidential elections held in mid December 2001. (…) WFP, in partnership with the non-governmental
organization CARE, has launched a programme whereby food aid is provided in
return for work to assist victims of the cyclone. Through these “food-for-work”
projects, cyclone-damaged infrastructure will be rehabilitated, such as the
main national road and the railway track – both critical for the transport of
food and other commodities. (…)
Global polio eradication
effort needs US$ 275 million to protect this achievement
Copenhagen 21 June - The
historic decision to certify the WHO European Region polio-free was announced
today at a meeting of the European Regional Commission for Certification of
Poliomyelitis Eradication (RCC) in Copenhagen. For some 870 million people
living in the region's 51 Member States, this landmark decision is the most
important public health milestone of the new millennium. (…)
The European Region has been
free of indigenous polio for over three years. Europe's last case of indigenous
wild poliomyelitis occurred in eastern Turkey in 1998, when a two-year-old
unvaccinated boy was paralysed by the virus. Poliovirus imported from
polio-endemic countries remains a threat. In 2001 alone, there were three polio
cases among Roma children in Bulgaria and one non-paralytic polio case in
Georgia -- all caused by poliovirus of Asian subcontinent origin. A decade ago,
an imported poliovirus paralysed 71 people and caused two deaths in a community
which refused vaccination in the Netherlands. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/02pr40polio.htm
New drug for visceral
leishmaniasis is first step in tackling neglected diseases - but much more must
be done
Geneva, 21 June -
The humanitarian medical aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
welcomes this week's news from the World Health organization that miltefosine,
a new drug to treat visceral leishmaniasis*, has been registered in India and
can now be used to treat patients infected with this killer disease.
Visceral leishmaniasis affects
around half a million people world-wide, almost all the poor in remote areas in
the less-developed world. Without treatment, it is almost always lethal.
"This is excellent news
for leishmaniasis patients," said Dr Bernard Pécoul, Director of MSF's
Access to Essential Medicines Campaign. "New, effective treatments are
desperately needed. Although miltefosine has its limitations, it is the first
oral drug to treat the disease, making it a much more practical drug compared
to the current injectable treatments.
"Miltefosine must now be
made available in other countries afflicted by this killer disease. The drug
also needs to be affordable to patients who need it. We hope the price can come
down to around US$10 per treatment." This is roughly equivalent of the
price of the generic version of SSG, the most commonly used drug today."
UNAIDS statement on United States government
initiative to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission
Geneva,
19 June - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
welcomes the U.S. initiative, announced this morning by President Bush, to
provide an additional $500 million over a period of several years to efforts
designed to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
UNAIDS
estimates that close to 800,000 babies were infected with HIV last year as a
result of mother-to-child transmission. Appropriate prenatal and antenatal
care, including short course regimens of antiretroviral therapy, are a highly
effective and inexpensive means of reducing HIV transmission. The initiative
announced today will save lives.
Mother-to-child
transmission is a significant part of the HIV epidemic. At last year's United
Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, all of the member states
signed a Declaration of Commitment that laid out substantial but achievable
goals to dramatically reduce HIV infections, and to improve care for those
already ill. (…)
http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/pressarc02/USgovMCTC_190602.html
Nationwide measles and polio
vaccination campaign launched in Burundi
Bujumbura, 19 June - The
National Immunization Days for Measles and Polio were launched on Monday with a
call by the Vice President's wife, Mrs. Oda Ndayizeye, for all mothers to
protect the lives of their children by having them vaccinated. This campaign,
which is taking place 17-28 June and 23-26 July, seeks to vaccinate 3.3 million
children between the ages of 9 months and 14 years against measles and 627,720
children between 0-59 months against polio.
The campaign also aims to
provide 1.2 million children between 6-59 months with Vitamin A supplements, to
help strengthen their immune systems. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/newsnotes/02nn20measles.htm
Europe
sets up chemical terrorism alert system
Copenhagen, Denmark, 21
June - Representatives of governments in the World Health Organization's
European Region and international organizations are establishing a chemical
incident alert system to meet any deliberate use of chemical agents by
terrorists in Europe.
A meeting
earlier this month in Copenhagen organized by United Nations agencies and the
World Health Organization (WHO) heard evidence from officials in charge of
anti-terrorist activities, poison centers, emergency preparedness units and
national surveillance systems, and from the international organizations most
involved in this area. Terrorism involving chemicals could not only cause
explosions but also affect the public through food, air and other routes.
Work is now underway to devise
an international incident scale that will quickly identify the severity of an
incident. Delegates also agreed to share expertise and capabilities through a
permanent forum. (…)
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-21-02.asp
KBF executes joint venture to
recycle and mine hazardous waste
Paterson, NJ, USA, 20 June -
KBF Pollution Management, Inc. announced today the execution of a joint venture
agreement with Westbury Metals Group, Inc., a prominent manufacturer and
distributor of metallic commodities for industrial users in the electronics,
chemical, aerospace and metal finishing industries. The joint venture
represents KBF's first major investment in the distribution of the metallic
commodities it mines from industrial hazardous wastes with its patented
technologies.
KBF's technologies
cost-effectively recycle, reuse and mine hazardous industrial wastes -- at the
price point of disposal, and are the only cost-effective and environmentally
beneficial alternative to land disposal and incineration today. (…)
http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/9C8089C1-2DF0-42A5-885E579DA1CCF80E.htm
BP-ARCO
fined millions for storage tank leaks
San Francisco, California,
USA, 20 June - Oil giant BP-ARCO will spend $45.8 million to settle charges
that it installed inadequate underground storage tanks in at least 59 Arco gas stations
in California. The leaky tanks may have allowed gasoline and the additive MTBE
to leak into soil and groundwater, prosecutors charged. (…)
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-20-08.asp
Russian
nuclear weapons become U.S. nuclear fuel
Washington, DC, USA, 19 June -
The U.S. Department of Energy signed an agreement with a publicly traded
corporation, the United States Enrichment Corporation, late yesterday that
mandates the company to take delivery of highly enriched uranium derived from
Russian nuclear weapons. The uranium delivered to the U.S. comes from
dismantled Russian nuclear weapons, reducing the inventory of highly enriched
uranium in Russia under the Megatons to Megawatts program. The United States
Enrichment Corporation (USEC) purchases the nuclear fuel from Russia and sells it
to customers to power their electric generating stations. (…)
USEC, headquartered in
Bethesda, Maryland, is a supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial
nuclear power plants with revenues last year of more than $1.1 billion. USEC
operates the only uranium enrichment facility in the United States - a gaseous
diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky. USEC also operates sampling, transfer and
shipping facilities near Portsmouth, Ohio. In the early 1990s, USEC was created
as a government corporation with the mission to restructure the government's
uranium enrichment operation and to prepare it for sale to the private sector.
The privatization of USEC Inc. was completed on July 28, 1998. (…)
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-19-04.asp
Four major companies announce
Green Power purchases and projects
Philadelphia, 11 June - Four
leading U.S. companies announced clean energy projects today as part of the
Green Power Market Development Group, a unique commercial and industrial
partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power. The Group
is convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI), and its members include
Alcoa Inc, Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, DuPont, General Motors, IBM,
Interface, Johnson & Johnson, Kinko’s, and Pitney Bowes. The Green Power
Market Development Group projects encompass 50 different corporate facilities
in 12 states generating a total of 15 megawatts of green power - enough energy
to power over 11,000 homes. Projects enacted since January 2001 include:
http://www.wri.org/wri/press/gp_purchase.html
Search begins for missing
radiation sources in Republic of Georgia
Vienna/Tbilisi, 10 June - An
international team assembled by the IAEA will begin a search today for two
abandoned Strontium 90 generators in a ca. 550 sq km area of Western Georgia.
About 80 people, mostly Georgian nationals, will take part in the two-week
search beginning on Monday, 10 June. Radiation experts from the IAEA, India,
France, Turkey and the U.S. are also part of the team, which will set out on
horseback, foot and by car.
Such highly radioactive
Strontium 90 sources were used as thermo-electric generators for communication
stations in remote areas. Six have been recovered so far, and it is believed
that there are two more at large in the designated area to be surveyed.
The IAEA has been working with
Georgia since 1997 to upgrade levels of radiation safety and security in the
country, where over 280 radioactive sources have been recovered since the
mid-90's. (…) The 10 June search marks the first operational phase of an action
plan to conduct IAEA-supported radiological surveys of selected areas in
Georgia. (…)
http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/P_release/2002/prn0208.shtml
Canada
imposes new mining rules to benefit fish
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 19
June - Canada will implement new environmental regulations to reduce pollution
entering waterways from metal mines across the country, Environment Minister
David Anderson announced today. The new rules impose limits on releases of cyanide,
metals, and suspended solids, and prohibit the discharge of effluent that is
lethal to fish. (…)
The regulations require metal
mines to conduct environmental effects monitoring programs to identify any
adverse effects of their effluent on fish, fish habitat, and the use of
fisheries resources. These new rules were developed through consultations with
the mining industry, environmental organizations, First Nations, and provincial
and territorial governments. They apply to the 100 metal mines operating in
seven provinces and three territories.
Conservationists such as the
Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia have been warning for years
about the deadly effects of acid mine drainage on fish. (…)
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-19-03.asp
Communities worldwide say no
to waste incineration: 126 groups in 54 countries take action in first ever
globally coordinated day of protest against incineration
Manila/ Berkeley/Geneva 17
June - Environmental groups and community organizations on six continents today
took action against waste incineration, challenging their governments to put a
stop to the deadly practice and move their communities towards sustainable
waste systems.
Today's actions coincide with
the first day of the sixth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC 6)
meeting on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Geneva.
The Treaty, signed by 151 countries, aims to eliminate the most persistent
toxic substances known to science, including the cancer-causing dioxins
and furans. The Convention identifies all waste incinerators, including cement
kilns burning hazardous waste as a major source of dioxins, furans and
polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, and recommends the use of substitute
techniques to avoid the generation of these byproduct POPs. As reported
by the United Nations Environment Program, incinerators are the source of 69%
of dioxin emissions worldwide.
According to the Global Anti-Incinerator
Alliance (GAIA), which is spearheading worldwide participation in this first
ever global day of action against waste incineration, the objectives of the Stockholm
Convention renders incineration as an untenable waste management option particularly
for countries which have signed the treaty. GAIA is a growing international
alliance of over 265 groups in 60 countries. Formed in Johannesburg in December
2000, the alliance seeks to phase out all forms of waste incineration and
promote clean production, zero waste and sustainable discard management
systems.
New sites proposed for World
Heritage List
Paris, June 19 - Eleven new
sites, including one in Afghanistan, are likely to be added to UNESCO's World
Heritage List on June 27. These sites of exceptional cultural and natural value
for humanity will be included on the List during the World Heritage Committee's
26th annual meeting in Budapest (Hungary) from June 24-29.
Nine countries have proposed
sites: Afghanistan, Germany, Egypt, Hungary, India, Italy, Mexico, Poland and
Suriname. The committee will also consider extending two sites already on the
List, in Hungary and Costa Rica.
The Committee will also review
the List of World Heritage in Danger. There are 31 sites on this List, most of
them under serious threat from such things as mining or industrial pollution,
looting, war, badly organised tourism, and poaching. (…)
On June 28, the Committee will
adopt the Budapest Declaration on World Heritage, thus marking the 30th
anniversary of the 1972 Convention on World Cultural and Natural Heritage. (…)
The World Heritage Committee comprises representatives of 21 counties and is
elected every six years by the general assembly of the Convention's
signatories. (…)
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-avis25e.shtml
New website brings african
women's voices online
United Nations, June 18 - A
new website to serve as a one stop regional portal for knowledge and
information on gender issues in the Horn of Africa was recently launched with
support from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the
World Bank. Hawknet, which stands for The Horn of Africa Region Women's
Knowledge Network, is designed to enable women to discuss emerging national
issues, network, participate in global debates and have a voice on national
policies regarding information and communication technologies (ICTs). (…)
While the African continent
contains 13 per cent of the total world population, Africans comprise a mere
one per cent of Internet users globally. Limited technological access, know-how
and literacy, especially among African women, prevent many people from taking
full advantage of the opportunities offered by ICTs.
Hawknet is attempting to
change that by offering women in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea,
Djibouti, Sudan, and Somalia the opportunity to participate in various chat
rooms, read the latest news on gender and business and take advantage of
Internet networks and resources. The new website is hosted by the African
Centre for Women, Information & Communications Technology (ACWICT) and can
be accessed at www.acwict.or.ke. (…)
http://www.unifem.undp.org/press/pr_020621_ICT.html
Israel, June - For the first time in
Israel, the sector that scored the highest in the "Matriculation"
certificate, this month (that allows entry into universities), were not
boys from European descent (Ashkenazi), as usual, but Christian
Palestinian girls. This fact is due to the democratic system of
education and high quality of teaching in Arab Christian schools in
Israel. The girl students systematically scored higher on exams than the national
average, and higher than the Palestinian boys. More than anything this
stands out because the students in the whole education system, are taught
to respect the values of tolerance and peace which seeks to make
them productive citizens of the world. There are close to 6 million
citizens in Israel, and 20% are Palestinian.
At the monthly (June 2002) Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue, at
IFLAC: The International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace, in
Haifa, on "The Sulha - The Reconciliation”, the president of the Association, Professor
Ada Aharoni, congratulated the Palestinian girl students for their impressive
achievement and success. The participants commented that if the
Palestinian Authority and all the neighbours in the Middle East promoted peace
values and peace education, it would advance the reconciliation and peace
between Israelis and Palestinians.
adah@matav.net.il
http://tx.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html
Rotary selects Barcelona, Spain as site of 93rd Annual Convention
Barcelona, Spain - More than
17,000 members of Rotary International will head to Spain, home of the first
Rotary club in continental Europe, for this year's annual convention. Rotary
members will gather 23-26 June in Barcelona to discuss the humanitarian
organization's continuing role in worldwide polio eradication and peace
efforts. Speakers will include Jerry Lewis and Mrs. Kofi Annan.
In addition to discussing
peace and conflict resolution and polio eradication initiatives, this year's
Convention will feature a variety of notable entertainers and political leaders
including renowned humorist and humanitarian Jerry Lewis, former President of the
Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, and Mrs. Nane Annan, wife of UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Lewis is scheduled to receive the Rotary Medal of
Honor at this year's Convention for his outstanding humanitarian service on
behalf of children with disabilities and will also perform at the 26 June
closing ceremonies; Gorbachev and Annan will discus peace initiatives. Louis
Cobos, recipient of 50 platinum album awards, is slated to perform during the
Convention's musical interludes.
The world's first and largest
service organization has 1.2 million Rotary volunteers, who belong to more than
30,000 clubs in 163 countries. Members are business and professional men and
women from around the world who share a commitment to humanitarian service and
peace. The organization funds literacy, environmental, medical and peace
projects in diverse communities throughout the world. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsandinfo/presscenter/releases/136.html
Afghan Humanitarian Reporting
and Journalists' Training Project
The Institute
for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), in partnership with Media Action
International (MAI), is implementing an intensive field programme to rebuild
the independent print media in Afghanistan. The aim of the programme is to
support the establishment of a responsible print media sector in Afghanistan as
a key component of the democratisation process. (…)
IWPR and MAI, with support
from the UK's Department of International Development (DFID), are currently
operating "quick-impact" print training projects in Kabul and
Peshawar. Further activities include maintaining an Afghan-run news website, training Afghan
trainers and working with the university, and reporting on human rights and
humanitarian issues.
Working in
coordination with the UN's Peace and Security Section of the Department of
Public Information, and in communication with many other international NGOs as
well as local media and NGOs, IWPR and MAI have drawn on considerable
institutional expertise in developing this training programme. For more than a
decade, IWPR, based in London, has implemented major field training and
development projects in the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia for a wide range
of development agency donors, including the European Commission, the Swedish
International Development and Cooperation Agency, and the UK's Department for
International Development (for whom IWPR also serves as a media advisor).
OneWorld Radio AIDS Network
27 June - The OneWorld Radio AIDS
Network launches tonight with an event in Johannesburg, South Africa. This new
portal offers services and networking for broadcasters and civil society
organisations who are interested in using radio/audio to promote awareness,
news and public education on HIV and AIDS.
The OneWorld Radio AIDS Network audio
exchange is a platform for the free exchange of programmes between stations and
organisations across the world, offering you access to a wide variety of
excellent programmes addressing many aspects of AIDS awareness.
For more information about the
OneWorld Radio AIDS Network: aidsradio@oneworld.net.
OneWorld is an international
network of over 1000 partner organisations harnessing the internet to promote
human rights and sustainable development worldwide. For more information about
OneWorld visit www.oneworld.net
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Good News Agency is distributed through Internet to over 2,400 editorial offices of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an e-mail address in 46 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Finland, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA, and it is also available in its web site: http://www.goodnewsagency.org
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, the Club of Budapest, the Earth Charter, Radio For Peace
International 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
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