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MTI: Bondár Anna a belga Greet Minnen oldalán győzelemmel kezdett a kanadai Granbyban zajló, 251 ezer dollár összdíjazású (101,5 millió forint) keménypályás női tenisztorna párosversenyében.

Pour ce lundi 22 aout, l‘Office National de Météorologie (ONM) ne prévoit aucune alerte météo, le temps sera clair sur la majorité des régions du pays, avec une légère hausse du mercure. Pour les régions Ouest et Centre, l’ONM prévoit un ciel généralement dégagé. Concernant les régions Est du pays, on notera une alternance d’éclaircies […]

L’article Météo Algérie : un temps clair et ensoleillé pour ce lundi 22 aout est apparu en premier sur .

Vasárnap 3.574 személy lépte át a szlovák-ukrán határt: 1.829 nő, 894 gyerek és 851 férfi – tájékoztatta a TASR-t Zuzana Eliášová, a belügyminisztérium szóvivője.

WARSAW, 22 August 2022 — Establishing, maintaining, and accessing places and objects of worship or contemplation are crucial to the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, which applies during conflict and in times of peace, said the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion.

“The OSCE region has a rich cultural and religious heritage, but religious buildings and relics are not just objects of the past — they’re profoundly important for living communities today,” said ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci. “Attacks on places of worship go against both the letter and spirit of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. They must be protected to ensure communities know that their past is respected, and their future is safe.”

ODIHR’s most recent hate crime data reveals that 51% of all incidents reported to the Office were anti-religious hate crimes. Most of these crimes targeted property, such as mosques, synagogues, churches, and cemeteries, though it is widely accepted that the vast majority of hate crimes are never reported to the state authorities or to anyone else. UN figures also show that 175 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine have been damaged since 24 February 2022, of which 74 are religious sites.

Hatred and intolerance against people from particular religious communities rarely take place in isolation, but go together with other human rights violations. The overall effect of violence and discrimination is not only negative for the communities concerned, but also for the security situation across the OSCE region.

The harm can also be less obvious, with peaceful religious or belief communities struggling in some OSCE countries to register their religious buildings or facing mandatory registration systems, insurmountable bureaucracy, or arbitrary closure and confiscation of their property. This shows clearly that states have much progress to make in ensuring that freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is a reality for everyone.

ODIHR continues to assist the countries of the OSCE in living up to their commitments to respect this right as well as to work towards tolerant societies. More information about ODIHR’s work in this area is available here.

NCZI: Augusztus 21-én az elvégzett 276 laboratóriumi PCR-tesztből 83 (30,07 %) zárult pozitív eredménnyel. A járvány hazai halálos áldozatainak a száma vasárnap nem emelkedett tovább (20.333).

Incendies dans les Balkans : des morts, des dégâts immenses et des gouvernements très critiqués
Le pire incendie depuis 20 ans en Slovénie, un parc naturel en feu en Bosnie-Herzégovine
Incendies : la Grèce brûle, le gouvernement se félicite, l'opposition s'indigne
Rivières des Balkans : l'eau douce, convoitée, menacée, évaporée

/ Serbie, Forêts, CINS, Environnement, Environnement dans les Balkans, dérèglement climatique

Incendies dans les Balkans : des morts, des dégâts immenses et des gouvernements très critiqués
Le pire incendie depuis 20 ans en Slovénie, un parc naturel en feu en Bosnie-Herzégovine
Incendies : la Grèce brûle, le gouvernement se félicite, l'opposition s'indigne
Rivières des Balkans : l'eau douce, convoitée, menacée, évaporée

/ Serbie, Forêts, CINS, Environnement, Environnement dans les Balkans, dérèglement climatique

SARAJEVO, 22 August 2022 – Observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will hold a press conference on the opening of the observation mission to the forthcoming general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, 24 August.

What: 

• An introduction to the role of the ODIHR election observation mission and its planned activities

Who: 

• Ambassador Peter Tejler, Head of the ODIHR observation mission

When: 

• 10:00 local time (GMT +2) on 24 August 2022

Where:

• Hotel Holiday, Zmaja od Bosne 4, Sarajevo

Registration:

• No registration is necessary, but only questions from journalists will be taken.

For further information on ODIHR’s election observation activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, please visit: https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/bih

Darya Dugina, the daughter of ultra-nationalist Russian guru Alexander Dugin, was killed in a suspected car bomb attack outside Moscow on Saturday evening (20 August). But who is Alexander Dugin?

The EU issued a declaration on the occasion of the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief.

Une start-up américaine tente de ramener le tigre de Tasmanie et le mammouth laineux de l'extinction. Mais est-il possible, ou même éthique, de réintroduire des animaux qui n'ont pas vécu sur Terre depuis des dizaines ou des milliers d'années ?

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2022 - EP

By Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
SINGAPORE, Aug 22 2022 (IPS-Partners)

Coral Bell, one of the finest strategic thinks of contemporary times had famously, but somewhat optimistically, advocated that peace-treaties be written without first fighting the wars. Her image of a ‘crisis slide’ saw the process beginning when adversaries are persuaded that there is no way out other than going to war. Thereafter it becomes an inexorable descent to the abyss of a military conflict. This simple but incontrovertible logic was extrapolated from her perception of global politics through the lens of a ‘classical realist’. So, can it be argued that China and the United States are slowly but surely approaching this dangerous watershed point? Rapidly evolving events following Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan sadly point to this possibility.

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury

What led to the Pelosi visit was probably the outcome of a complex interplay of domestic and international politics. Certain American scholars such as Graham Allison, Morton Halperin and others have opined that US policies are often the outcome of cumbersome bargaining between government agencies. Pull and pushes are exerted by different agencies upon the principal state executive to produce a certain result. So, by definition, the consequence is not preceded by an entirely rational process. Henry Kissinger had written that in the US foreign policy was but a series of moves and manoeuvres that have produced a result originally not planned for. Broadly this paradigm in decision-making has been referred to a “Bureaucratic Politics”. Actors in the system, therefore, do not necessarily conform to a consensually agreed upon behaviour pattern in the State’s external dealings. Speaker Pelosi and President Joe Biden represented two distinct pillars of State, the legislative and the executive, though the ultimately responsibility resides in the President, who is the embodies the US to the world beyond. They may not see eye to eye regarding many institutional, or even personal interests, and hence the outcome in the form of the Pelosi visit to Taiwan.

The visit is now over. But the dust from the storm it raised is far from settling down. There is also no telling when that would come about and if at all. The backdrop of the issue is a complex one. China has always claimed Taiwan as a renegade island-province with a destiny of union with the mainland. Now the US had shifted its diplomatic recognition of the Chinese state from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 under the “One China “principle. This generally acknowledges that Taiwan is a part of China. That also initiated an era of cooperation between the two powers, the US and China. China took advantage of the calm in their relations, tweaked its policies of socialism to achieve phenomenal economic and strategic growth and power, now being seen as the rising challenger to the sole hyperpower. Inevitably competition trumped collaboration with frequent verbal hostilities. China believed US was chipping away at the “One China” policy when thrice he stated last year that the US would fight to defend Taiwan if China attacked it, even though, the White House walked back on it. Naturally on all sides, including Taiwan, hawks and doves emerged in the governance system.

Nancy Pelosi was a hawk. An anti-China posture provided a modicum of unity across the aisle, a rarity in current US politics, and naturally as Speaker she relished the opportunity to forge it. Mid-term elections were upcoming, and popular causes were in demand at home or abroad. Besides, Pelosi was 82, an age at which most public figure contemplate leaving behind a heritage. So, despite some wariness from Biden as well as the Pentagon, she chose the option that demonstrated obvious moral, and even physical (as security was also a factor). She plumbed for the visit. When China warned retaliation, many on the US side publicly thought it was a bluff worth being called. Thus, China saw itself placed in a situation where it was damned if it reacted and damned if it didn’t. It was a textbook ‘crisis slide’ situation as imagined by Coral Bell.

So, China reacted, and how! It reacted in three ways. First against Taiwan. Almost immediately it launched massive unprecedented live -fire military drill, for the first time, flying ordnance cross Taiwan. The manoeuvres included large number of warships, fighter jets and bombers, also featuring latest military hardware, including J-20 stealth fighters, and DF-17 hypersonic ballistic missiles. The exercises, some of which continue at writing, were conducted from six zones, encircling the entirely island, simulating a blockade in a possible future invasion of the island. The Chinese operated across the ‘median line’ along the Taiwan straits, which earlier they had respected, if not in theory, at least in practice, breaking an unofficially accepted taboo. On the economic and commercial side China stopped export of sand for construction and import of some kind fruits and fishes, said to be mainly from the constituency of the Taiwanese President, Tsai ling-wen, who is reputed to be pro-independence.

More significant perhaps for the world were the second set of measures directed against the US. China suspended all talks on crucial issues of climate change, cooperation on drug control, combating transnational crime and repatriation of illegal immigrants. The dialogues and working meetings between military leaders were also scrapped. A consultative mechanism on maritime military security was also ended. These actions are bound to have extremely negative ramifications for peace, security, and stability of the region. For good measure China also slapped stiff personal and targeted sanctions on Pelosi, her travel mates, and their families. Pelosi’s grandson reportedly queried if that would mean his ticktock subscription is ended! The Chinese, using social media, were said to have responded that the implications extended to hundreds of millions of dollars of an investment company that Pelosi’s husband was closely linked with, with huge interests in Hongkong and China. That would be a sobering thought for many! It was now a battle with no holds barred!

As was anticipated, the US felt compelled to be involved in a tit-for-tat retort. The White House declared that the country was set to conduct new “air and maritime transits” in the Taiwan Straits during the coming weeks. It reiterated the oft cited language (which could be indicative if a measured tone) that the US would “continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows., consistent with our longstanding commitment to freedom of navigation”. So, some of this is bound to happen, and it should surprise no one. Also, the second visit of the US legislators to Taiwan, less than two weeks after Pelosi’s, though low-keyed, was meant to make the point that the Chinese military exercises will not be a deterrent to the US. But the circu8mstances this time round would be different and more dangerous, as the earlier ‘confidence building measures ‘(CBMs) are no longer in place, and any accident could lead to catastrophic consequences.

It is to be noted that in some ways China, too, as its own ‘bureaucratic politics’. President Xi Jinping is set to secure an unprecedented third term in office later this year that could consolidate his power for the entirety of his lifetime. His aim to bring the ‘China Dream’, or Zhao Guomeng, a set of complex prescriptions for ‘national regeneration, is forcing him to tread a path different from the liberal economics of the Deng Xiaoping era. This entails slowing growth to spread its fruits among a wider matrix, a policy that surely would have opposition, however unarticulated within the apparently monolithic Chinese Communist Party. What would be seen in China as Xi’s crowning glory would be the reunification of the mainland and Taiwan. As of now it is thought to be left to “a later generation”. Should Xi perceive a burgeoning tendency on Biden’s part to whittle down the “One China principle”, he may decide to advance the reunification action.

So, can a war be avoided? Can the two major protagonists concerned be prevented for inexorably marching into battle, mainly because they have, by their words and actions, walled off all the pathways leading out of the battlefield? It would be much more than a huge pity if that were to happen. It would help if all parties could better understand the compulsions of the other, including the need to sometimes behave in a manner that is overtly irrational. That would entail an extremely sophisticated analysis of perceptions, and management of missteps under trying circumstances. However, it is to be expected that nations claiming superpower ranking should be capable of that. There is not much else that can be done to make the possibility of war less probable.

This story was originally published by Dhaka Courier.

Germany's inflation rate could surge over 10 percent this autumn, the highest in 70 years, the country's central bank chief Joachim Nagel told the Rheinische Post on Saturday. His comments came just after Russian state gas giant Gazprom announced an unscheduled three-day shutdown of the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline that sends natural gas to Europe from 31 August to 2 September.

Macédoine du Nord : une réforme de la justice arrachée aux forceps
Lutte anti-corruption : en Macédoine du Nord, clap de fin pour le Bureau du procureur spécial
Macédoine du Nord : la justice anti-corruption en voie de liquidation ?
Macédoine : destitution du Procureur général Marko Zvrlevski, un fidèle du VMRO-DPMNE

/ Courrier des Balkans, Macédoine du Nord, Défense, police et justice

Macédoine du Nord : une réforme de la justice arrachée aux forceps
Lutte anti-corruption : en Macédoine du Nord, clap de fin pour le Bureau du procureur spécial
Macédoine du Nord : la justice anti-corruption en voie de liquidation ?
Macédoine : destitution du Procureur général Marko Zvrlevski, un fidèle du VMRO-DPMNE

/ Courrier des Balkans, Macédoine du Nord, Défense, police et justice

A two-day forum in Nakuru brought together a host of state and non-state actors, who collectively, were mandated to ensure Kenya’s elections will be safe and free from violence. Credit: UN Women/Luke Horswell, January 2022

By Gabriel Odima
MINNESOTA, USA, Aug 22 2022 (IPS)

Once again, Kenya finds itself at a crossroads. The current events in Kenya illustrate how and why electoral malpractices and not democracy and human rights are the leading form of governance in Africa.

A large number of leaders in Africa, both temporal and spiritual, are not strongly committed to constitutional rule. Every time there is electoral malpractices, especially in Kenya, there are always politicians eager and willing to give homage to a fraud in exchange for appointments to offices.

What appears to be the hidden agenda is beginning to emerge in Kenya. The very sad events in Kenya have some similarities and connections with the events in the neighboring Uganda.

There is much blanket talk about peaceful transition of power in Kenya without addressing the Elephant in the room (the electoral fraud). The Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga former Prime Minister of Kenya has rejected the outcome of the Presidential election.

The fact that four Commissioners have come out and exposed the fraud at the IBEC, the body that is charged with conducting elections in Kenya is a smoking gun. Any attempt by the international community, international media and African governments to offer legitimacy to the Deputy President William Ruto before the Kenyan Supreme Court settles the matter is premature and a dangerous move for the country.

The current situation in Kenya reminds me of what happened in Nigeria. The scourge of democracy in Africa soon came into scene. The candidate who should have been sworn in as president, Mr. Masudi Abiola, was sent to jail by the military and died there on charges of treason simply for claiming victory in election which many in Nigeria believed Mr. Abiola had won. Former president Obasanjo, was among several politicians who were thrown in jail for questioning the electoral fraud.

Kenya should stand as a lighthouse for democracy in Africa. Many scholars argue that democracy is not the answer to Africa’s problems. To a certain degree, I agree with such statements that democracy alone cannot guarantee African nations’ happiness, prosperity, health and peace and stability.

In fact, modern democracies also suffer greatly from many defects. But in spite of the flaws, we must never lose sight of the benefits that makes democracy more desirable than fraudulent elections.

As for the assertion that Dr. William Ruto won the presidential election “itself stands tainted” the reality of the electoral malpractices is now known in its essence, namely that the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga former Prime Minister of Kenya has rejected the results of the Presidential elections 2022.

The contradiction in the presidential results of 2022 demonstrates the misery of Kenyan electoral body (IEBC). This action by the electoral body (IEBC) not only haunts the establishment of democracy, but also creates a hostile environment which can lead to political instability and bloodbaths in Kenya.

There is a policy move to anoint Dr. William Ruto as President-elect in the Republic of Kenya. Such policy will fail the people of Kenya in their search for harmony among themselves should it accept the current presidential results as the sole voice of the people of Kenya.

To do so would be to flout international law, to ordain the electoral fraud, or exempt and favor those who messed up the presidential results with their mentors and collaborators.

The cause of democracy and the enjoyment by the citizens of human rights and freedoms have and will continue to suffer so long as the international community gives support and credibility to electoral fraud across Africa.

The commitment of indigenous African peoples to protect their interests in peace and through political parties has been impressive and must stand as a leading pillar and vehicle in any endeavor for transformation in Africa towards political development.

The first African political party to be formed in Africa south of the Sahara was the African National Congress (ANC). It was formed in 1912. Just as the Africans had pinpointed, then confronted, the inequities of the apartheid system of governance through their political parties, these inequities later became the concern of the international community.

In South Africa, the ANC (having been banned, its leaders imprisoned, killed and scattered in exile), was able, within a very short time after disbandment to assert itself as the voice of the oppressed and win handsomely the first non-racial multiparty elections in South Africa in 1994.

In agreeing to form a government of national unity, the ANC became a vehicle for transformation towards a milieu of unity, peace, stability and democracy in South Africa.

Finally, between the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa, Kenya has been and continues to be an island of peace, despite the challenges facing democracy in terms of electoral malpractices in Kenya.

Rev. Gabriel Odima is President & Director of Political Affairs, Africa Center for Peace & Democracy, Minnesota, USA

E-mail: africacenterpd@aol.com

IPS UN Bureau

Russian energy giant Gazprom said it will close the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from August 31 to 2 September for maintenance. The pipeline supplies natural gas from Russia to Europe. "It is necessary to carry out maintenance every 1,000 hours" of operation, Gazprom said in a statement on August 19. The closure comes amid record high gas prices in Europe, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The leaders of France, Germany, UK and the US on Sunday discussed a plan to revive the 2015 deal with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. A White House statement said "they had they discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, the need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and joint efforts to deter and constrain Iran's destabilising regional activities."

The government in Montenegro fell on Saturday, following a no-confidence vote over a row with the country's Serbian Orthodox church, AFP reports. MPs voted 50 to one to oust the government of prime minister Dritan Abazović. It came after he signed a deal regulating the property rights of the church, the largest faith in Montenegro, which split from Serbia in 2006. The nation is divided over the church's dominant role.