Good News Agency – Year V, n° 5
Weekly - Year V, number 5 – 9 April
2004
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. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti. Good News Agency
is published in English on one Friday and in Italian the next. It is distributed free of charge through
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Information. The Association has been recognized by UNESCO as “an actor
of the global movement for a culture of peace” and it has been included as an
international organization in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development
Solidarity – Peace and security – Health
– Energy and Safety
Environment and wildlife – Culture and education
Rome, 31 March (FAO) -- Twelve
European countries and the European Community have ratified the International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, triggering the
90-day countdown to the Treaty's entry into force, the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) announced today.
The latest ratifications bring
to 48 the number of countries worldwide that have ratified the agreement, which
will, therefore, enter into force on 29 June 2004.
The Treaty will ensure that
plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, which are vital for human
survival, are conserved and sustainably used and that benefits from their use
are equitably and fairly distributed.
"This is a legally
binding treaty that will be crucial for the sustainability of
agriculture", said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. "The Treaty is an important
contribution to the achievement of the World Food Summit's major objective of
halving the number of hungry people by 2015".
"Years of multilateral
negotiations under the auspices of FAO's Intergovernmental Commission on
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture have finally been successful",
said José Esquinas-Alcázar, Secretary of the Commission. "The Treaty
provides an international legal framework that will be a key element in
ensuring food security, now and in the future.
The challenge is now to ensure that the Treaty becomes operative in all
countries." (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sag244.doc.htm
2 April - On 26 March the
Ministries of Public Education and of Higher and Secondary Specialized
Education of Uzbekistan, the ICRC and the Red Crescent Society of Uzbekistan
signed an agreement that sets a handover date for a programme that the ICRC has
been supporting for several years and that is aimed at spreading knowledge of
international humanitarian law in the country’s secondary schools and
universities.
Under the agreement,
instructors will be trained with a view to developing a solid teaching base for
the programme, which will be handed over to the authorities in 2007. A similar
agreement was signed with the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic on 9
March.
Brussels, 2 April (ICFTU
Online) - International trade union organisations are launching a support
programme for the development of trade unions in Iraq, following a February
mission to the country, and a subsequent planning workshop in Brussels. (…)
The ICFTU, together with the
Global Union Federations, intends to help develop a solid institutional,
legislative and policy framework which ensures a just reconstruction. The
international trade union movement will also assist Iraqi workers in
establishing and consolidating independent and democratic trade unions.
A basic requirement is a new
labour code which fully respects the UN’s International Labour Organisation
(ILO) standards. The international labour movement is pressing for a key role
for the ILO in developing the new legislation, to replace the existing
Ba’athist laws which underpinned decades of anti-union repression by the
previous regime. (…)
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991219151&Language=EN
Brussels, 1 April (ICFTU
Online) - Women from trade unions around the world gathered today in Brussels
for the launch of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions’ (ICFTU)
annual Women’s Committee, running from 1st- 2nd April. Featuring trade
unionists from countries ranging from Bulgaria to the Dominican Republic, one
centrepiece of the Committee’s activities was the signing of an Olympic torch;
a powerful endorsement by women trade union leaders of the PlayFair at the
Olympics campaign. Thousands of people, representing workers and consumers from
more than 25 countries, have already participated in campaign launches and
subsequent PlayFair acitivities. Launched on March 4th by Global Unions, Oxfam
and the Clean Clothes Campaign, PlayFair has so far resulted in more than
30,000 letters, faxes and emails being sent to the International Olympics
Committee (IOC) and global sportswear manufacturers including Fila, Asics and
Puma.
A report produced for the
campaign documented numerous and serious violations of trade union rights and
other fundamental standards. Most workers producing global sportswear products
are women. Exposed to serious flaws in health and safety, exhausting work
schedules and poor pay, these women also suffer sexual harassment at their
workplaces. (…)
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991219149&Language=EN
UNODC launches local media campaign in over 40
countries to assist victims of human trafficking
Vienna, 1 April (UN
Information Service) -- As part of its global human trafficking awareness
campaign, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has joined
forces with its partners in over 40 countries to produce customized versions of
its latest video spots. Each of the
versions includes a local telephone hotline number where victims can receive
assistance and concerned citizens can find out what they can do to help. (…)
Human trafficking is a growing
global phenomenon, with 800,000 to 900,000 people trafficked across
international borders annually, according to
reports from the United Nations
and the United States Department of State. The United Nations Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, which supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime, promotes international cooperation to prevent and fight trafficking. The
UN Protocol calls on countries to protect and assist victims in legal
proceedings and provide social assistance in areas such as counselling,
housing, education and health care. Additionally, the Protocol points to the
need to improve the social conditions that lead to human trafficking and to
raise awareness about the issue through public information, such as UNODC’s
television campaign.The video spots can be viewed at www.unodc.org/unodc/en/multimedia.html
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/soccp291.doc.htm
Better harvests improve
sub-Saharan Africa's food supply situation
But millions still need food assistance
Rome, 7 April - While
overall availability of food has improved in sub-Saharan Africa, millions of
people in several countries still rely on food assistance to survive, FAO said
today in its first Africa Report for 2004. The report is a regional and
country-by-country breakdown of the crop prospects and food supply situation in
sub-Saharan Africa issued three times each year. According to the report,
estimated cereal import requirements in sub-Saharan Africa in 2004 "remain
high" but are expected to be lower than last year. Altogether 24 countries
in the sub-region are facing food emergencies.
In Eastern Africa, food
production has generally improved compared to last year, mainly due to good
crops in Ethiopia and Sudan. "However," says the report, "the
food situation in parts of Somalia, Eritrea, Tanzania and pastoral areas of
Kenya is of particular concern." (…)
February and March rains in
much of Southern Africa generally improved crop prospects, but heavy
downpours caused flooding in Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique,
resulting in substantial crop damage. (…)
The food supply situation for
2004 in Western Africa is generally favourable, reflecting above average
to record harvests in the Sahelian countries and satisfactory crops in almost
all other countries, the report says. Markets are well supplied and cereal
prices have declined substantially, according to the report. But, in Côte
d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone internally displaced people and
refugees continue to need food assistance. Also of concern is the threat from
desert locusts already well into the development stage in the northern parts of
several Sahelian countries as well as in Algeria and Morocco.
The Africa Report is produced
by FAO's Global Information and Early Warning Service and is based in part on
joint FAO/World Food Programme assessment missions to African countries
throughout the year. Several such missions are scheduled for five countries of
southern Africa in April/May.
Geneva, 25 March (UNCTAD) --
Top retailers will meet with women entrepreneurs from developing countries in
Geneva on 29 March to explore how business can be used as a route to poverty
reduction and gender equality. The meeting, convened by the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)with the support of the government
of Canada, will lead to a partnership between women producers, buyers and UN
agencies. (…)
The partnership is thus aimed
at enhancing export opportunities and increasing earnings for home-based women
workers and women microentrepreneurs while promoting sustainable and
gender-sensitive methods of production. To be known as the Trade Initiative for
Poverty Alleviation and Gender Equality, the partnership will help its target
beneficiaries to develop competitive and marketable products and to comply with
the regulations and standards of production demanded by global consumers.
The Geneva meeting will be
attended by representatives of such retailers and importers as Coop, Migros,
Schilliger, Catambo and Fair Trade Village, all of Switzerland; Ikea of Sweden;
British Importers of Canada; Artisans du Monde of France; and the UK-based
International Fair Trade Association. Three women entrepreneurs from the
Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) of India, Acao Communitaria of Brazil
and Talking Beads of South Africa will also take part. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/tad1976.doc.htm
UN ICT task force, Wireless Internet Institute
unveil wireless universal connectivity initiatives
New York, 24 March (Department
of Economic and Social Affairs) -- Heeding a call from Secretary-General Kofi
Annan to extend Internet connectivity to underserved populations around the
world, the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task
Force and the Wireless Internet Institute announced today a series of
programmes to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of
universal connectivity.
In his challenge to Silicon
Valley in 2002, the Secretary-General said:
"We need to think of ways to bring wireless-fidelity applications
to the developing world so as to make use of unlicensed radio spectrum to
deliver cheap and fast Internet access."
In response, the UN ICT Task
Force and W2i have put together "Wireless Internet for Underserved
Populations and Local Communities", a programme designed to address one of
the leading development challenges of our time -- universal connectivity -- by
involving all key stakeholders, from government and civil society to the
private sector and field practitioners.
Under the programme, field
conferences and publications undertaken in partnership with the private sector
and international development organizations will seek to accelerate adoption of
broadband wireless Internet in underserved areas and communities around the
world.
Early underwriters of the
initiative include IBM and Intel. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/pi1563.doc.htm
24 March - This week, in time
for the planting season starting in April, the ICRC is distributing 20 kilos of
rice seed, two kilos of beans and one vegetable-seed kit per household to
30,000 families living in north-western and south-eastern Liberia (…). In all,
150,000 people will benefit from the programme, which should enable many
families to sow and harvest rice back home for the first time in years. The
ICRC had previously distributed axes, machetes, hoes, rakes, shovels and other
tools to the same households through village committees. Both distributions
were planned after the needs in each county had been carefully assessed. (…)
Since the war ended in early
August 2003, the focus of ICRC programmes has shifted from displaced persons
and residents in and around Monrovia to residents and returnees in the
country’s 15 counties. In addition to providing agricultural assistance, the
ICRC is currently involved in activities to protect civilians and people
deprived of their freedom, restore family links, assist internally displaced
persons and other vulnerable residents, improve access to safe drinking water
and spread knowledge of international humanitarian law. It also provides
support for and cooperates with the Liberia National Red Cross Society.
Washington, DC, March 24 --
West African singing sensation, Baaba Maal, a new United Nations Development
Program Youth Emissary, has pledged his support to the youth of Africa,
including a major youth-focused food security initiative being implemented by
Counterpart International, a US-based non-governmental organization, and its
local partners in Baaba Maal's home town in northern Senegal. Following a
powerful "Acoustic Evening with Baaba Maal" at George Washington
University's Lisner Auditorium in the nation's capital last week, the singer
commended Counterpart's school feeding, nutrition and health program in his
native Department of Podor. "I think it's a good project, it's a good idea
... and if I can help, I am ready to do it," said Baaba Maal of the
initiative funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Baaba Maal, who promised to
visit the schoolchildren on his return from the United States, has been raising
awareness among young people on the continent about the threat of HIV/AIDS,
illiteracy and initiatives to reduce poverty. (…)
Counterpart's program, which
provides a hot and nutritious meal to schoolchildren each day, seeks to boost
literacy rates, improve school attendance and enrollment, alleviate short-term
hunger, improve attentiveness in school, and educate children in Podor about
positive lifestyle choices and personal care. The program allows the
semi-nomadic pastoralists of the north an opportunity to keep their children in
school during the harsh dry season instead of following their herds in search
of pasture. (…)
http://www.counterpart.org/news/presser.asp?id=826
22 March - The European
plastics industry is launching its new look Aquaplastics website (www.aquaplastics.org) to raise money
for water and sanitation projects in Madagascar and Malawi.
The success of the charity
website in raising €150 000 for much needed water projects in Nigeria and Mali
last year prompted the European plastics industry to start the project again in
2004.
As last year, Aquaplastics is
being launched today, 22nd March to coincide with World Water Day. People across
the world are invited to visit the site and help raise money by registering a
click each day until 22 June 2004. For every click, the European plastics
industry (through APME, the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe)
will donate 10 cents to help international charity WaterAid deliver clean, safe
water and sanitation to people in Madagascar and Malawi. Life expectancy in
Malawi is just 40 years, and less than half the population of Madagascar have
access to a supply of safe, clean water. (…)
Don't wait any longer and
click on www.aquaplastics.org to give water to Africa!
Givat Aviva, Israel, 28 March
- A group of ten youth (five Jews and five Arabs, aged 14-15) is currently
completing their preparations for a trip to South Africa. The group, chosen and
trained by the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva, will be hosted in
South Africa by the Jewish Maritime League from April 2-14, where they will
participate in sailing competitions as well as diverse cultural and social
activities. Over the past three months the group has undergone a training
process at Givat Haviva, accompanied by the Director of the Department of
Education of the Menashe Regional Council, Zeev Shafrir, along with sailing
training at the Center for Sea Training and Education at Sdot Yam.
The joint sailing expedition
is one of the many projects initiated and implemented by the Jewish-Arab Center
for Peace at Givat Haviva. Other projects include a soccer and educational
project, joint initiative of Givat Haviva and Maccabi Tel Aviv; this summer a
delegation of youth trained in the fine arts will visit the United States to
visit various summer camps; additional educational activities are held every
day in schools across the country, promoting peace education and coexistence.
Two years ago the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva was awarded the
UNESCO Prize for Peace Education, an especially prestigious award attesting to
the quality of activity at Givat Haviva. For further information: Mohammad
Darawshe, Public Relations Director, Givat Haviva: dovergh@inter.net.il
Kabul, Afghanistan, 26-March -
Today the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) congratulated
Afghanistan for its commitment to the ban on antipersonnel landmines and pushed
for increased efforts to promote the landmine prohibition amongst the country’s
Asian neighbours. The 1997 Nobel Peace Prize-winning campaign is in Kabul for
its regional meeting, opened today by Afghan Vice-President Mr Amin Arsalah. (…)
Afghanistan joined the 1997
Mine Ban Treaty, or Ottawa Convention, on 11 September 2002 and is now working
vigorously to implement the agreement. Just under half of the Asia-Pacific
region, and very few Central Asian countries, have joined the Mine Ban Treaty.
Only two of Afghanistan’s neighbours are party to the Mine Ban Treaty:
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. (…)
Donations for mine action in
the country have quadrupled in recent years, and as a result the goal of a
mine-free Afghanistan is within reach in years, not decades. Landmines
contaminate all but two of Afghanistan’s provinces and are scattered over an
area of more than 780 square kilometres, including towns and villages, grazing
land and roads. To date some 260 square kilometres have been cleared.(…)
Workers
and employers develop joint actions to fight HIV/AIDS in eight African
countries
Brussels, 2 April (ICFTU
Online) - Representatives of employers, and trade unions held an unprecedented
meeting in Geneva to develop bipartite national action plans for workplace
responses to HIV/AIDS. The meeting, running from 30 to 31 March, follows up on
a joint policy statement of the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) targeting
eight countries which are among the worst-affected by the pandemic in Africa.
(…) Employers' and workers' representatives, meeting inside the International
Labour Organisation's headquarters in Geneva, made joint presentations on the
work they have carried out so far in Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali,
Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. (…)
The participants also held
discussions on resource mobilisation with multilateral and national donors,
including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the German
technical cooperation agency (GTZ), as well the Dutch and Swedish governments.
http://www.ioe-emp.org http://www.icftu.org
Canadian Government Ups the Ante by $10 million
Canadian Dollars in Fight Against Measles in Africa
New York, 2
April - UNICEF today welcomed Canada's donation of an additional 10.5
million Canadian dollars toward reducing child measles deaths in war-torn
countries in Africa. The funds are targeted at the countries where children are
at a greater risk of measles because of a mosaic of emergencies including war,
conflicts, natural disasters and devastated health care systems.
Recipient countries include Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Mali and Niger. Measles kills more children
than any other vaccine-preventable disease – nearly 500,000 children die every year
in Africa. (…)
The donation,
made through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will
strengthen the efforts of the Measles Partnership for Africa. The prime goal of
the partnership is to reduce measles deaths globally by 50 per cent by 2005,
compared to the 1999 figures of 869,000 deaths. Since 1998, CIDA has donated
over 68 million Canadian dollars to UNICEF to combat measles. These
donations were given both through the Canadian International Immunization
Initiative and through donations for activities in emergency countries.
Despite these
donations, UNICEF warned that a shortage of funds stands in the way of reducing
measles deaths even further and urged the global community to follow the lead
of Canada and the partners of the Measles Partnership for Africa and provide
the necessary funds. (…)
UNICEF
Media: Mohammad Jalloh ,mjalloh@unicef.org - Kate
Donovan kdonovan@unicef.org
Rotary International sponsors Community Health
Conference in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Saint
Petersburg, Russia, 1 April - More than 400 business and professional leaders
from throughout the world will convene at the Saint Petersburg Hotel 2 April to
discuss Rotary's funding and volunteer support of Russian health
initiatives. Scheduled speakers include Member of Parliament Alexander
Radko, Rotary International President Jonathan Majiyagbe, Malmö University
Hospital physician Dr. Peter Nilsson and Ms. Teela Pakkasvirta, from the Finnish
Consulate in St. Petersburg.
The development conference is one of a series
of 15 Rotary-sponsored "Presidential Celebrations" highlighting
global cooperation and volunteerism and is followed by a Rotary in Russia
conference on 3 and 4 April.
Today, there
are 1,527 Rotarians in 74 clubs throughout Russia. Recent Rotary-funded
St. Petersburg health projects include equipment for the Theo Erismann
Hospital's Hematology Department and the Alexander Hospital.
Study
finds 20% jump; opportunity to reach women with key health services
Geneva / New York, 30 March -
The number of pregnant women in developing countries receiving antenatal care
during pregnancy has increased significantly since 1990, signalling that an
untapped opportunity exists to reach poor women with a whole package of
life-saving health services, according to a joint report issued today by UNICEF
and the World Health Organization.
The number of women receiving
antenatal care has increased 20 per cent since 1990, with the greatest progress
in Asia (31 per cent) and the least improvement in sub-Saharan Africa (4 per
cent). "The advantages of
receiving regular antenatal care cannot be stressed enough," said Carol
Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. "If a woman comes for antenatal
care early in her pregnancy, there is time for early diagnosis and treatment of
infections in the mother, and an opportunity to prevent low birth weight and other
conditions in the newborn. These findings have enormous significance for
maternal health and child survival." (…)
The study
finds that antenatal care is heavily influenced by such factors as wealth and
education. In poor households women are far less likely to use antenatal
care than women in well-off households. For example, in Pakistan, 7 per cent of
women from poor households received antenatal care, compared with 70 per cent
of women in the wealthiest households. (…)
For further information, please
contact: Erin Trowbridge, UNICEF Media, New York etrowbridge@unicef.org Kate Donovan,
UNICEF Media, New York kdonovan@unicef.org
Christopher Powell, Communications Advisor, Family and Community Health WHO,
Geneva: powellc@who.int
Religious shareholders mount big push to spur
stronger drug company response to HIV/AIDS crisis
New York, March 24 - Religious
and other concerned shareholders today announced a major coordinated campaign
through the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) to pressure
four major pharmaceutical companies - Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Merck
(NYSE:MRK), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) - to take
new steps on the HIV/AIDS crisis, including the pandemic in Africa.
Even though HIV medicines can
turn AIDS from a death sentence into a chronic disease, only 4 percent of the
estimated 40 million world citizens suffering from HIV/AIDS have access to the
life-saving medicines. Of that total, 95 percent of the victims live in the
developing world where major pharmaceutical companies have been faulted for not
doing enough to make HIV/AIDS medications more readily available to the
millions who need them.
The ICCR-backed resolutions
call on each of the four leading pharmaceutical companies to "review the
economic effects of the HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria pandemics on the
company's business strategy, and its initiatives to date, and report to
shareholders within six months following the 2004 annual meeting." (…)
ICCR members have engaged
pharmaceutical companies on HIV/AIDS issues for three years. ICCR-sponsored
resolutions on HIV/AIDS are also pending at major employers Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT),
ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE: CVX),
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP). In an unusual move, the
Coca-Cola board of directors is supporting the resolution on HIV/AIDS facing
that company. (…)
http://www.iccr.org/news/press_releases/pr_pharma3_24_04.htm
(top)
Vienna
International Centre hosts exhibition on Algerian Space Programme
Vienna, 2 April (UN Information Service) -- An
exhibition on the Algerian Space Programme was officially inaugurated in the
Rotunda of the Vienna International Centre on 29 March by Taous Feroukhi,
Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations Office at Vienna
(UNOV), and Antonio Maria Costa, Director-General of UNOV. The exhibition is
jointly organized by the Algerian Space Agency and the United Nations Office
for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA). (…)
The exhibition coincides with
the first anniversary of Algeria’s accession to the Committee on the Peaceful
Uses of Outer Space and the setting up of the Algerian Space Agency. (…)
Emphasizing that the "use
of space technology is no longer an esoteric activity that only the developed
countries can afford", Mr. Costa highlighted the importance of satellite
imagery for Algeria in monitoring agricultural land use, using its natural
resources in a sustainable manner, planning urban and rural development,
monitoring industrial and marine pollution and supporting cartography for
infrastructure such as road and rail networks. (…)
http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2004/unisos276.html
On 23 March the ICRC delivered
a transformer to the national electricity board in Kisangani so that
electricity could be supplied to the REGIDESO water-treatment plant in Lubunga,
in Orientale province. The town’s more than 200,000 residents will thus have
access to clean water again.
Lubunga had been without
drinking water or electricity for more than 18 months because the transformer
had broken down. As the electricity board was unable to repair it, the ICRC
decided to donate a new 100 kVA transformer, this vital item being the last
piece of equipment needed to put the water-supply system back into service
after its rehabilitation with material and technical assistance provided by the
ICRC. Ensuring access to drinking water for a wide section of the urban
population in cooperation with local institutions is an ICRC priority in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
ADRA
North Korea & partners to improve energy source
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, 29 March – Access
to reliable sources of energy has long been a struggle for rural farmers in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). But the Adventist Development and
Relief Agency (ADRA), in partnership with the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), have trialed a technology that
will enable rural households to produce adequate energy for their own essential
requirements.
The project will use biogas
plants, a widely used process for energy production around the world, to
produce a year-round energy supply. Biogas is a biological process, which aims
to utilize the cycles in nature that produce energy. This process has been used
in the past but the production of gas often ceases in winter as the temperature
in the biogas plant falls below 59ºF (15ºC), the minimum temperature for the
efficient production of biogas. (…)
The newly installed biogas
plants will utilize both anaerobic processes for the fermentation process and
aerobic processes to naturally heat and insulate. Insulating the biogas plant
and placing the "digester" in a greenhouse also increase efficiency.
The greenhouse also allows the family to extend the growing seasons of food
within the greenhouse or keep animals warm during the winter months. It is the
first household plant in DPRK working the whole year without additional heating
required. (…)
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/032904.html
17 March - A new type of
disposable glove releasing chlorine dioxide when exposed to light or moisture
could kill potentially harmful microbes, according to a study in “Clinical
Infectious Diseases”. One can imagine
the enormous potential for health care and food workers. With costs similar to
traditional gloves, these vinyl or polyethylene gloves reduce the chances of
transmission of microbes such as E. coli, staphylococcus or salmonella,
regularly encountered in medical or food-handling work. As soon as the gloves
come out into the light, chlorine dioxide (an undetectable gas commonly used in
water purification) is released and continues to emit for up to four hours.
Trials showed that after 20 minutes, 99.99 percent of the bacteria were
destroyed.
Infusing materials with
chlorine dioxide to control infection could be extremely helpful to a number of
industries, according to US study author Dr. Michael Barza. For instance,
medical devices such as vascular and urinary catheters, if made with the
gas-emitting microspheres, could help prevent infections that might endanger
already vulnerable patients.
A major benefit of this new
technology is that it will not lead to the advent of “super-germs” as
antibacterial soaps and cleaners can, a characteristic of chlorine dioxide
being that it does not breed resistance among microorganisms.
San Francisco, 24 March – The
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)—an organization created by the
NAFTA environmental side accord—today announced the first three wildlife
species to be safeguarded under a new trinational effort to protect species of
common conservation concern in North America.
The leatherback turtle,
humpback whale and pink-footed shearwater were jointly selected by the
governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States, in cooperation with
environmental groups, as pilot species for the first North American
Conservation Action Plans. The action plans will establish a common
conservation approach across the continent, and will act to reduce threats,
share expertise and provide key information to the public and wildlife
officers. (…)
In June 2003, the three North
American governments adopted a long-term strategy for the conservation of
critical species and habitats in North America. The action plans form a key
element of this strategy, as does a complementary process aimed at establishing
a North American Marine Protected Areas Network. (…)
http://www.cec.org/news/details/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=2600
Vienna, 25 March (UN
Information Service) -- The Tokyo-based Drug Abuse Prevention Centre’s (DAPC)
“No! Absolutely No!” campaign against drug abuse in developing countries sets a
unique example of what young people can do when they approach a worldwide
problem.
A group of six upper-secondary
school students from Japan – Yumi Sogou, Takashi Yamaguchi, Nishiki Yamamoto,
Haruka Kikou, Yumi Kobayakawa, and Manami Shiga – presented Antonio Maria
Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
their latest contribution of US$ 190,000, thus increasing their 10-year total
to almost US$ 3.9 million.
“Your contribution in support
of our work over the last decade matches the contribution of some of the major
donor countries,” Mr. Costa said in a meeting with the young ambassadors.
Since 1994, DAPC has been
running a nationwide fund-raising campaign in Japanese cities, collecting money
in the streets, as well as from the private sector and civil society at large.
Each year, six to eight of the most active participants come to Vienna as
designated Young Civic Ambassadors to present their contribution to the
UNODC.
DAPC’s contribution to UNODC
is used for grants, ranging from US$ 5,000 to US$ 20,000, supporting
non-governmental organizations in developing countries in Latin America and the
Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe in their grass-root activities in
drug abuse prevention. So far, more than 300 grants have been given to such
organizations in over 90 countries. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/socnar898.doc.htm
Jalalabad, Afghanistan --
Through the efforts of dedicated volunteers, a new elementary school is opening
to serve the needs of up to 2,000 local girls and boys. The school in Jalalabad
has been transformed from tents and dirt floors to new classrooms full of
supplies, a library, and a health clinic all housed in a concrete building.
The project sprouted from the
vision of San Diego Rotary member Fary Moini, who resolved to build a new
school for children on the outskirts of Jalalabad. She has made a number
of trips to Afghanistan, with supporting funds and supplies from her Rotary
club, to work on the school. Working with her fellow Rotary club members
at the La Jolla Rotary club, Fary raised more than $100,000 for the project.
UNIS
Vienna launches new web site
Vienna, 25 March (UN
Information Service) -- The United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Vienna
today launched its new Web site: http://www.unis.unvienna.org
The revamped, easy-to-use Web
site offers a variety of enhanced features, including press releases issued
both from the Department of Public Information (DPI) New York, and from UNIS
Vienna. Top News will guide you through the latest press briefings held by UNIS
-– scheduled press briefings and summaries covering past events are also
online.
The Web site is aimed at
offering a comprehensive insight into the various activities of UNIS Vienna,
besides offering the media quick, up-to-date information. Visitors to the site can check out the
latest events and happenings at the United Nations in Vienna, the various
observances and days celebrated in Vienna.
Besides this, visitors can also find information on internships in the
United Nations, library services, guided tours, schedules as well as lecture
programmes for student groups.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/pi1564.doc.htm
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