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Some Spanish supermarkets are experiencing ice shortages and limiting the number of bags sold to consumers as demand soars amid the third heatwave of the summer. High energy prices are being blamed for the lack of supplies, and, as a result, the price of ice bags is also increasing. "The increased demand due to the high temperatures is leading to hoarding," Spain's biggest retailer Mercadona spokesperson told Reuters.

Estonian foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu has called on the EU to impose a ban on travel visas for Russian citizens in order to further isolate Russia, Bloomberg reported. He raised the issue during a three-day trip to Ukraine when he met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The EU-wide visa ban should be part of the sixth round of sanctions imposed on Moscow over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reinsalu said.

EU member states are expected to have their gas-storage facilities filled at 80 percent of capacity by 1 November, as the bloc prepares for possible further disruptions and peak demand during the winter, Reuters reported. European gas storage facilities were 70.54 percent full earlier this week, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe released on Thursday. This level was higher than the five-year average of 70.32 per cent.

Russian president Vladimir Putin's ex-wife, Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, and her husband have a house in Biarritz, France, two flats in Malaga, Spain, and one apartment in Davos, Switzerland, according to associates of the jailed Alexei Navalny, Polish media reported. The villa in France was bought for €5.3m in 2013. One flat in Malaga cost her €790,000 and the other one €1.4m. The flat in Davos was purchased for €3.6m in 2014.

Griechenland verzeichnet eine Tourismus-Saison, die besser als erwartet verläuft. Die diesjährigen Einnahmen werden dazu beitragen, die Auswirkungen der steigenden Energiepreise auf die Gesellschaft zu mildern, sagte Regierungssprecher Giannis Oikonomou am Donnerstag (4. August).

Three ships, carrying 58,041 tonnes of corn, are due to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday under the safe passage agreement reached to unblock grain exports, Reuters reported. The Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which monitors the compliance with the deal, said two vessels will leave from Chornomorsk and one from Odessa. On Monday, the first ship was allowed to leave Ukraine's Odessa port since the war began.

Italiens scheidende Regierung hat am Donnerstag (4. August) ein Dekret zur Reform des notorisch langsamen Strafrechtssystems des Landes verabschiedet. Damit wurde der Weg für den Abschluss einer umfassenderen Reform geebnet, die für die Gewährung von EU-Geldern erforderlich ist.

Bekérették a lengyel külügyminisztériumba a fehérorosz nagykövetség ügyvivőjét, tiltakozva Irina Szlavnyikava, a lengyel közszolgálati televízió munkatársa és más újságírók bebörtönzése miatt. A lépéseket a később kiadott közleményben a fehérorosz civil társadalomnak mért csapásnak nevezték.

A nagykövetségi ügyvivőnek átadott diplomáciai jegyzékben tiltakoztak az ellen is, hogy a fehérorosz hatóságok folytatják az újságírókkal és a civil társadalom képviselőivel szembeni megtorlást – olvasható a külügyminisztérium honlapján közzétett közleményben.

A szélsőséges szervezet létrehozása és engedély nélküli tüntetéseken való részvétel vádjával szerdán öt év szabadságvesztéssel sújtott Szlavnyikava esete mellett a közleményben említették a július 13-án nyolc év börtönbüntetésre elítélt Katerina Andrejeva (Bahvalova) esetét is.

Mindkét újságíró a lengyelországi székhelyű, fehérorosz nyelvű Belsat televízió munkatársaként ismert. Szlavnyikava esetében a lengyel sajtó az újságíró ügyvédjére hivatkozva arról ír: ő az utóbbi években már nem a Belsat munkatársa, tíz éve a lengyel közszolgálati televíziónál (TVP) dolgozik.

A külügyi közleményben felidézik: politikai fogolynak számít a jelenleg több mint 1250, Fehéroroszországban bebörtönzött ember, köztük 29 újságíró, beleértve a tavaly márciusban letartóztatott Andrzej Poczobut újságírót, a Fehéroroszországi Lengyelek Szövetségének (ZPB) elnökségi tagját is.

A külügyi tárca szorgalmazza, hogy a fehérorosz hatóságok szüntessék be az újságírók, a lengyel kisebbségi képviselők, valamint a polgári társadalom más képviselői üldözését, és azonnal bocsássák szabadon az összes politikai foglyot.

A diplomáciai jegyzék átadását követően Lukasz Jasina, a lengyel külügyi tárca szóvivője újságíróknak elmondta: a fehérorosz ügyvivő “higgadtan tudomásul vette az elmondottakat, de országa belügyeibe történt beavatkozásnak minősítette őket”.

Jasina aláhúzta: a lengyel fél a nemzetközi színtéren más módon is törekedni fog arra, hogy elérje a Fehéroroszországban jogtalanul bebörtönzött lengyelek szabadon bocsátását.

 

The post Szlavnyikava és más újságírók bebörtönzése a fehérorosz civil társadalomra mért csapás appeared first on .

Kurz vor dem Wahlkampfbesuch des einwanderungsfeindlichen Spitzenkandidaten der Lega auf Lampedusa, Matteo Salvini, wurden am Donnerstag (4. August) hunderte von Migranten auf eine Fähre verfrachtet.

Après des avancées significatives en matière de politique européenne du travail ainsi qu’au niveau des droits sociaux durant le premier semestre 2022, tous les regards sont à présent tournés vers la présidence tchèque du Conseil pour voir si cette dynamique se poursuivra.

Monténégro : premières mobilisations contre les féminicides
Confinement au Monténégro : alerte rouge aux violences domestiques
Serbie : ces femmes qui mènent le combat contre les violences domestiques
« Punis-moi... » : ces tubes des Balkans qui légitiment les violences faites aux femmes
Avec #nisamprijavila, une deuxième vague metoo déferle sur les Balkans

/ Monitor (Monténégro), Monténégro, Femmes violences, Société

Monténégro : premières mobilisations contre les féminicides
Confinement au Monténégro : alerte rouge aux violences domestiques
Serbie : ces femmes qui mènent le combat contre les violences domestiques
« Punis-moi... » : ces tubes des Balkans qui légitiment les violences faites aux femmes
Avec #nisamprijavila, une deuxième vague metoo déferle sur les Balkans

/ Monitor (Monténégro), Monténégro, Femmes violences, Société

A befektetési-, régiófejlesztési- és informatizációért felelős minisztérium (MIRRI) új székhelyének kiválasztása a lehető legnagyobb átláthatóság és ellenőrizhetőség mellett zajlott, és megtakarítást jelent a tárcának – reagált a Facebookon Veronika Remišová (Za ľudí) tárcavezető elődje, Richard Raši (Hlas) bírálatára.

Dr Ming-Yen Tsai, head of the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, responds to EUobserver op-ed on Taiwan by the Chinese ambassador to the EU. "Taiwan is an 'island of resilience'. That will continue to be the case."

Credit: HarvestPlus

By Victor Ekeleme and Kalejaiye Olatundun
WASHINGTON DC, Aug 5 2022 (IPS)

In Nigeria, women play key roles in food and nutrition security through their contributions to agricultural production, their influence on how to allocate household income, and their efforts to ensure proper nutrition for all household members.

However, malnutrition remains widespread among rural women and children in Nigeria, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic and amid the current global food crisis.

To help meet this challenge and empower farming women to improve nutrition, the CGIAR’s HarvestPlus program is deepening its longstanding partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Agricultural Development Program (ADP)—specifically, through the ADP’s Women in Agriculture (WIA) Extension Program.

(CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources).

The WIA platform has proven to be a sustainable and effective mechanism for women to reach out to other women with agricultural information and technologies. Notably, the WIA approach helps break through religious and cultural barriers that may prevent some women from gaining access to life-improving knowledge and resources.

HarvestPlus is strengthening the knowledge and capacity of about 500 WIA women officers in several states on the promotion of healthy feeding practices, nutrition, and promotion of biofortified crops and foods.

The officers will then be able to include biofortification messages and trainings as part of their activities with women in the communities where they work, with the aim of motivating women farmers and their families to produce, process, distribute, and consume biofortified crops and foods.

WIA training in Imo state

At trainings in Imo state, located in South East Nigeria, 32 WIA officers were selected from different senatorial districts and local government areas to learn how to create awareness about biofortification, and how to process some newly developed biofortified crop-based foods, especially snacks, complimentary foods and traditional meals.

Elsie Emecheta leads the WIA Imo state chapter. She is an advocate for fostering the success and security of smallholder farmers. Within the last few years, she has helped strengthen collective influence to shape policy debates on issues that affect women and girls; she has also supported the national mission to end hunger and malnutrition by raising awareness through nutrition health talks and training.

She has highlighted deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, and other micro-nutrients, which are widely prevalent across the country and have led to the decline in the physical and mental development of children, and ill health among adults, especially women and lactating mothers. Emecheta also has campaigned to integrate gender issues in agricultural policies and programs.

Emecheta was pleased that the training was expanding her team’s knowledge of biofortified crop and food production and processing. “Hidden hunger is a big problem. In today’s Nigeria, it has been confirmed through research that malnutrition is the main cause of maternal and child illness. We are here to learn more about biofortification and how to develop finished products from these nutrient-enriched crops,” she said.

Emecheta added: “Following this [training], we will be involved in enlightening women in rural areas. We are hoping that the officers will be inspired to mainstream biofortified crops and foods in their messaging and training with women. We believe they will be well-equipped to implement this knowledge in their various zones and communities.”

WIA trainings attract diverse group

The training for WIA officers also drew women agri-preneurs and influencers, representatives of rural cooperatives, and from some NGOs engaged in gender and livelihood programs. Emecheta was happy the event has raised awareness about the critical role of women in agriculture and how direct support for female business owners will play a role in ensuring a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food system in the South East of Nigeria.

“As part of the training, the women will be exposed to the technologies for producing products such as snacks, complementary foods, and traditional household meals from biofortified cassava, and maize. We have introduced them to processing the products for business and home consumption. We have about 32 women undergoing the training,” said Emecheta.

Emecheta and her group have developed a new-found entrepreneurial spirit, spurring women to invest in biofortified cassava and maize cultivation. She is very confident that the opportunities afforded by the HarvestPlus initiative in Imo state will help the participants establish themselves as positive influencers of other women, successful biofortified crop farmers, processors, and marketers.

Olatundun Kalejaiye, Nutrition and Post-Harvest Officer at HarvestPlus, was excited to be part of the efforts to ensure women can make better nutrition choices while also improving their income generation abilities as this will lead to inclusive economic growth for women in Imo state.

For her, building a food-secure future starts when one woman is empowered to know that she doesn’t need to be wealthy before her family can be well nourished. What women need is the right knowledge of nutrition and how to choose their foods, how to combine them and how to prepare them.

If one woman is nutrition smart, she can influence her daughters, daughters-in-law, nieces, grandchildren, and on and on, from generation to generation.

Said Kalejaiye: “We have women who have come for this training without an idea of what biofortification is all about. This is an opportunity to educate and sensitize them and create the needed awareness about the potential for women and children in the communities where they live.”

The HarvestPlus program of the CGIAR focuses on helping to realize the potential of agricultural development by delivering gender-equitable health and nutritional benefits to nutrition-vulnerable populations.

HarvestPlus currently works with Nigerian partners to promote vitamin A-biofortified cassava, maize, and orange sweet potato. By the end of 2021, 1.8 million smallholder farming families were growing vitamin A cassava and 1.6 million were growing vitamin A maize.

Women are priority participants in all aspect of HarvestPlus’ work.

Victor Ekeleme is a Corporate Communications Professional based in Lagos, Nigeria and Olatundun Kalejaiye is Agriculture4Nutrition Expert, Gender Promoter, Member – Nutrition Society UK

To learn more, visit the HarvestPlus website, or contact us.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Crimes de guerre : une inculpation serbe qui secoue la Croatie
Oluja : le président croate fait l'apologie des crimes de guerre et choque la Bosnie-Herzégovine
Revue de presse • Les 25 ans d'Oluja, nouvelle polémique entre la Croatie et la Serbie
Croatie : Serbe, pacifiste et antinationaliste, je suis allée couvrir les commémorations d'Oluja
TPIY : 24 ans de prison pour Ante Gotovina, 18 pour Mladen Markač, Ivan Čermak acquitté
TPI : Ante Gotovina et Mladen Markač acquittés en appel
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/ Serbie, Croatie, Courrier des Balkans, Oluja, Politique intérieure, Relations régionales, Défense, police et justice

Crimes de guerre : une inculpation serbe qui secoue la Croatie
Oluja : le président croate fait l'apologie des crimes de guerre et choque la Bosnie-Herzégovine
Revue de presse • Les 25 ans d'Oluja, nouvelle polémique entre la Croatie et la Serbie
Croatie : Serbe, pacifiste et antinationaliste, je suis allée couvrir les commémorations d'Oluja
TPIY : 24 ans de prison pour Ante Gotovina, 18 pour Mladen Markač, Ivan Čermak acquitté
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Pénteken délután csak Árva vidékén és a Tátra alatti térségben nem lesz hőségriasztás, de ott is 30°C körüli hőmérséklet várható. Az ország nagy részén – főleg délen és nyugaton – másodfokú figyelmeztetés lesz érvényben (14:00-18:00) a nagy forróság (+35/+37°C) miatt. A többi térségben elsőfokú riasztás (+33/+34°C) lesz érvényben.

Greece is having a better-than-expected summer tourism season and this year's revenues will help alleviate the impact of soaring energy prices on society, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said on Thursday (4 August).