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Bol Mel, who is sanctioned by the US for alleged corruption, had been tipped as Kiir's successor.

Több mint két évszázad után beszüntette az egycentes érmék nyomtatását az Egyesült Államok szövetségi pénzverdéje szerdán.

By Mary Assunta
BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 13 2025 (IPS)

The 183 Parties to the global health treaty, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will convene in Geneva from 17 – 22 November with one objective – to strengthen their efforts to arrest the No.1 preventable cause of disease and 7 million deaths annually – tobacco use.

Credit: Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control

The WHO FCTC is unique in that it serves to regulate a unique industry that produces and markets a uniquely harmful product.

In October, the WHO FCTC Secretariat issued an alert to Parties preparing to head to Geneva for the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) urging them to stay vigilant against the industry’s tactics and misinformation.

According to the Andrew Black, the Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC, “This is not just lobbying; it is a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus and weaken measures to further the treaty’s implementation.”

Despite government efforts to implement the treaty adopted 20 years ago, the tobacco industry is a lucrative business. It is projected to generate a revenue of more than US$988 billion in 2025. Low- and middle-income countries bear the bulk of the tobacco burden where 80% of the world’s 1.2 billion tobacco users live.

Governments have identified tobacco industry interference as their biggest barrier to implementing tobacco control measures to save lives.

But the tool to address tobacco industry meddling is in governments’ hands. Known as Article 5.3, this obligatory clause in the FCTC, is based on principles of good governance and outlines specific actions governments can take to limit their interactions with the tobacco industry to only when strictly necessary for regulation.

The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, a civil society report card on governments’ implementation of this article, found many governments were lacking in protecting public health. The Index covering 100 countries has exposed how the tobacco industry targeted and persuaded willing senior officials, especially from the non-health sectors, to protect its business and lobby on its behalf.

The newly released Index found the industry has not only become more aggressive in its meddling, but it is also more blatant and lobbied legislators including parliamentarians, ministers and governors who as elected officials can influence policy at the legislature.

Parliamentarians in 14 countries filed pro-industry bills, accepted industry input that resulted in delayed adoption of tobacco control laws or promoted legislation to benefit the industry.

The Index revealed very senior officials had accepted sponsored study trips to tobacco company facilities, the most common facility visited being the Philip Morris International’s research facility in Switzerland.

The tobacco industry has also used its charity to lure public officials and governments to endorse its activities and whitewash its public image. While 32 countries have banned tobacco-related CSR activities, 18 governments from LMICs, such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Jamaica and Zambia, collaborated and endorsed industry activities such as tree planting, community programs, assistance to farmers and cigarette butt cleanups.

Evidence shows tax increases on tobacco products is the silver bullet to reduce tobacco use. The Index found more than 60 of 100 countries were persuaded to not to increase tobacco tax, delay tax increases, lower tax rates, or give tax exemptions for certain products.

Over 40 countries resisted the tobacco industry’s misleading narrative on so called harm reduction and have banned e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. However, when a government prevails with stringent legislation, the industry has used the courts to challenge the law. In Mexico for example, when the government banned e-cigarettes in 2023, Philip Morris Mexico obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court to allow it to continue sales of these products.

Industry interference has obstructed tobacco growing countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia from even having basic bans on cigarette advertising and promotions. Now Big Tobacco is pushing new nicotine products in these countries and others, and creating the next generation of nicotine addicts.

The lack of transparency in governments’ interactions with the industry has provided a breeding ground for interference. The absence of lobby registers and disclosure procedures, and the failure to inform the public about meetings with the industry lets this interference continue.

But there is hope and positive outcome for public health when governments acted without compromise. Botswana, Ethiopia, Finland, Netherlands and Palau all show low levels of interference by protecting their bureaucracy. These countries are a testament to standing up to a powerful industry and arresting interference so they can fulfill their mandate to protect public health.

Dr Mary Assunta is the head of Global Research and Advocacy at the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control

IPS UN Bureau

 

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While jihadist groups' central command has weakened, the vision of a global caliphate persists – with Europe still in the ideological crosshairs

Accusé de violences par son ancienne compagne, le député social-démocrate Jani Prednik a démissionné, mettant fin à une carrière politique prometteuse. Son cas, loin d'être isolé, ravive le débat sur les violences faites aux femmes et sur les limites de l'égalité entre les sexes dans une Slovénie qui aime pourtant se présenter en modèle.

- Articles / Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Société, Slovénie, Femmes violences, Une - Diaporama

Les capitales ne sont pas parvenues à trouver un terrain d’entente sur les modifications proposées aux règles anti-déforestation de l’Union lors d’une réunion des ambassadeurs de l’UE mercredi 12 novembre, les divergences persistant quant à l’ampleur des modifications à apporter au texte.

The post Les États membres dans l’impasse sur les modifications des règles anti-déforestation appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Ces derniers mois, les visites des officiels américains à Athènes étaient plus nombreuses qu'à Bruxelles. Et pour cause… La Grèce est désormais au cœur du plan américain visant à inonder l'Europe de GNL américain pour remplacer le gaz russe.

- Articles / Economie, Environnement, Relations internationales, Grèce, Courrier des Balkans, Énergie Balkans, USA Balkans, Relations gréco-turques, Une - Diaporama - En premier, Une - Diaporama

Almost a year to the day after Boualem Sansal was arrested, the Algerian president grants him a pardon.

Les pétroliers "fantômes" et "zombies", qui transportent clandestinement du pétrole russe, iranien et vénézuélien en violation des sanctions, étendent désormais leurs filets pour menacer les infrastructures sous-marines de l’Europe occidentale – et l’environnement.

Az eurót reggel hét órakor 384,56 forinton jegyezték az előző nap 18 órai 384,58 forint után. (mti)

Thursday 13 November

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Thursday 13 November

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Entre nouveaux projets communs, financements débloqués et nouvelles priorités industrielles, Bruxelles a multiplié les annonces cet automne pour renforcer la défense européenne. Un foisonnement d’initiatives qui rend parfois difficile de suivre ce qui est réellement sur la table. Euractiv vous propose un tour d’horizon des grands chantiers et des étapes à venir.

The post Défense européenne : qu’est ce qui attend l’Europe ? appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Az amerikai Kongresszus alsóháza elfogadta a szövetségi intézmények finanszírozásáról szóló, így a kormányzati működés újraindulását lehetővé tevő átmeneti költségvetési törvényt szerdán.

In today’s edition: Parliament’s fragile front against the €2 trillion MFF crumbles after von der Leyen’s tactical tweaks, the EPP–Patriots alliance inches closer as MEPs prepare to vote on corporate due diligence rules, and the Commission’s top staff reviewer sparks backlash over talk of ending ‘lifetime’ EU jobs

Csütörtökön is ködre kell számítani az ország egész területén. A figyelmeztetés csütörtök 11:00 óráig van érvényben, majd 17:00 órától újra érvénybe lép.

Tájékozatlanabb honfitársaink számára talán meglepően hangzik, de a magyar és orosz népek történelmi tapasztalatában legalább egy átfedés is akad. A tatárjárást a Kijevi Rusz fejedelemségei is ugyanúgy elszenvedték, de ráadásul megkapták a nyakukba a közmondásos tatár igát is, ami érthető módon az egyesített Oroszország nemzeti emlékezetében fontos helyet foglal el azóta is. Örökségét alapvetően elhúzódónak és károsnak szokás beállítani, és az erre irányuló külföldi figyelem újjáéledését ill. felélénkülését is meg lehet figyelni az ukrajnai háború kirobbanása óta, ami magától értetődő táptalaja lett a nagyorosz sovinizmus és birodalmi küldetéstudat egyfajta sajnálatos patológiaként, a mongol despotizmusból, bizánci normákból és muszka hazugságokból szárba szökkent elfajzásként való értelmezésének, akár atlantista-liberális, akár kelet-európai nacionalista szemszögből.  

[...] Bővebben!

You can’t bomb your way out of an illicit market.

The Republican-led House has voted largely along party lines to end the 43-day government shutdown