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Ein Tornado hat am Donnerstag im Südosten Tschechiens eine Spur der Verwüstung hinterlassen. An der niederösterreichischen Grenze starben nach ersten Informationen fünf Menschen, es gibt zudem mindestens 100 Verletzte.

Seit mehreren Tagen wird die Schweiz von heftigen Unwettern heimgesucht.

Der Huebbach im Kanton Luzern tritt wegen den starken Regenfällen am Donnerstag über die Ufer.

Fini le temps ou les robinets des Algériens en général, et des Algérois en particulier, coulaient à flot. Maintenant, c’est l’heure du rationnement. En effet, la crise de l’eau, qui s’est déclarée parallèlement à la venue de la saison estivale, s’annonce particulièrement difficile en ce début d’été 2021. À Alger, aujourd’hui, une suspension partielle des […]

L’article Rationnement de l’eau : le nouveau programme d’Alger est apparu en premier sur .

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On June 24th, IPI and the Permanent Mission of Germany, with the co-sponsorship of the Missions of Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland to the UN, cohosted a virtual event entitled “Safeguarding Humanitarian Action in Counterterrorism Contexts: Addressing the Challenges of the Next Decade.”

This virtual policy forum was convened as an official side-event on the margins of the 2021 High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States. Following the adoption of the seventh review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) by the UN General Assembly, the event provided an opportunity to discuss the role of UN member states and of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact in promoting respect for principled humanitarian activities in counterterrorism contexts.

Concerns about the impact of counterterrorism measures on humanitarian action have grown in recent years. Support for addressing this issue has especially increased since the inclusion of supportive language on international humanitarian law (IHL) in the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) in 2016 and 2018, as well as the adoption of Security Council Resolutions 2462 (2019) and 2482 (2019). In his last report on the implementation of the GCTS, the secretary-general recalled Resolution 2462 and noted that “upholding the impartiality of humanitarian actors and refraining from any politicization of humanitarian assistance is critical, given that humanitarian actors are increasingly operating in settings with an active terrorist threat and being targeted by terrorists.” Despite growing momentum, the unintended challenges that counterterrorism policies pose for the delivery of humanitarian aid have not been alleviated, and actions to mitigate the impact of these measures remain limited.

As the characteristics of armed conflict and other situations of violence evolve—including a multiplicity of armed groups designated as “terrorists” by the UN Security Council and member states—there is a need to examine counterterrorism policies and humanitarian needs in a holistic manner. As member states, including the heads of their counterterrorism agencies, gather to discuss the evolution of counterterrorism in an age of transformative technology, greater attention should be given to the need to safeguard humanitarian action, as foreseen by Pillar IV of the GCTS and by relevant Security Council resolutions.

Panelists analyzed how UN member states and the UN system can concurrently address two considerable challenges they face over the next decade: an evolving terrorist threat and unprecedented humanitarian needs. Taking into account Pillar IV of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, they discussed ways to ensure that counterterrorism efforts do not reduce the space for humanitarian actors to operate when and where needed. In particular, panelists highlighted how member states and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact can best promote and facilitate humanitarian activities.

Welcoming Remarks:
Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, IPI President

Opening Remarks:
Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN

Speakers:
Ms. Laetitia Courtois, Permanent Observer to the UN & Head of Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Professor Naz K. Modirzadeh, Founding Director of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict
Dr. Jehangir Khan, Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) and the Office of Counter-Terrorism

Closing Remarks:
H.E. Mr. Agustín Santos Maraver, Permanent Representative of Spain to the UN

Moderator:
Mr. Jake Sherman, IPI Senior Director of Programs

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Across the world, climate change and Covid-19 disruptions have led to rising food prices in the past year. Southeast Asian countries, which have not been immune to such challenges, need to build resilience in their food security policies.

By Paul Teng
Jun 24 2021 (IPS)

In 2020, Southeast Asian countries were already facing varied challenges that affected the region’s food supplies and prices. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic later in the year exacerbated the region’s food insecurity and poverty. Southeast Asian countries need to take a hard look at food security, even as the double challenges — climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic — continue to fester.

Paul Teng

Southeast Asia is not alone when it comes to the challenges posed to food security. Indeed, most of the world has been grappling with increased food prices in the past year. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s latest report of the benchmark Food Price Index — which tracks the prices of meat, dairy, cereals, vegetable oils and sugar — rose for the 12th consecutive month in May 2021 to 127.1, its highest level in nearly ten years.

One of the drivers for the price increases is vegetable oil, notably palm oil, whose prices have been increasing since the fourth quarter of 2020. But global cereal prices also shown a significant rise in the past months. Dry weather and production disruptions due to Covid-19 coupled with high global demand led to the depletion of palm oil inventories, resulting in a classical demand surge-supply slump situation. This has inevitably driven up up prices. Biodiesel demand also increased the demand for soybean oil.

Southeast Asian countries were only just recovering in 2020 from the effects of the African swine fever which killed millions of hogs, and from large areas of crops devastated by the Fall Army Worm (which started in the Americas and proceeded to afflict sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent, China and Southeast Asia). In the same period, countries across Southeast Asia implemented measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. Movement controls disrupted food supply chains, increased losses of agricultural produce on farms, and increased food waste. The net result is that food insecurity and poverty have increased in many Southeast Asian countries in the past year.

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Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Beyond the impact of the pandemic, climate-related phenomena have affected agriculture in food producing economies of Southeast Asia and in the countries which conduct food trade with the region. The ongoing drought in parts of western and mid-western United States, important agricultural areas, have impacted harvestable crop areas and potentially will lower crop yields. As the US is an important exporter of wheat, soybeans and maize to Southeast Asia, there is real danger that price inflation of basic food commodities will increase further.

According to the FAO, 10 per cent of Southeast Asia‘s population of 650 million suffers from food insecurity. So any increase in food prices will drive more people to hunger and reduced food intake. But the situation in Southeast Asia cannot be viewed in isolation from countries that are large food importers. Demand in China, one of the world’s biggest food importers, has been strong as the country has recovered from the pandemic earlier and faster than the rest of the world. Different parts of China have suffered from drought in the south and floods in the east. Much agricultural production occurs in the vicinity of the rivers and their flood plains, and even a small decline in production could inevitably lead to a large absolute increase in food demand due to China’s large population size. In past years, when China had gone shopping for food in the international markets, Southeast Asian countries have had to compete for the limited amounts available, especially in staples like rice.

Southeast Asia’s growing middle class has concurrently increased demands for wheat products and animal protein, both of which cannot be met by the production of animal feed crops like soybean and maize in the region or Asia as a whole. The FAO, in its analyses, has attributed part of the food price increases to supply-side issues such as harvest delays and reduced crop yields in exporting countries like Brazil.

It would appear that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over in Southeast Asia, with the resurgences of 2nd and 3rd waves of infection. Natural calamities linked to climate change are further anticipated to negatively affect food production in many of the food exporting countries. For the region, the typhoon (cyclone) season of 2021 is only just beginning. This will put a strain on the ability of the region to grow enough food. Furthermore, reductions and disruptions in food supply chains leading to price spikes appear likely to continue in 2021 and beyond. Asian countries are also likely to implement tighter biosecurity measures such as improved animal health requirements and increased surveillance as part of strategies to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases. To avoid the chaos created during the 2007-2008 food crisis, openness in reporting outbreaks and transparency in data sharing will be key to avoid panic buying.

In the near future, the effects of climate change are likely to increase rather than decrease, and together with the disruptions caused by the pandemic, will potentially create a ‘perfect storm’ for food supplies and prices. So ‘preparedness’ as a policy will be important for ASEAN to build resilience in its food security.

This article was first published by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute as a commentary in Fulcrum.” With a link back to the original article — https://fulcrum.sg/southeast-asia-and-food-price-inflation-double-whammy/

Professor Paul Teng is an Associate Senior Fellow in the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak institute. He is also Dean and Managing Director of NIE International, Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

 

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Excerpt:

Across the world, climate change and Covid-19 disruptions have led to rising food prices in the past year. Southeast Asian countries, which have not been immune to such challenges, need to build resilience in their food security policies.

La crise de l’eau que traverse l’Algérie en cet été 2021 s’annonce sérieuse. Les réactions des citoyens et certaines décisions des autorités témoignent que la solution est loin d’avoir été trouvée. Une solution qui ne se trouve d’ailleurs pas en Algérie, vu que les Japonnais sont d’ors et déjà invités à prendre part, via leur […]

L’article Dessalement de l’eau de mer : l’Algérie invite les Japonais à investir est apparu en premier sur .

Le Conseil fédéral a publié un premier rapport sur le sujet. Beaucoup d’éléments restent toutefois encore difficiles à chiffrer.

Cinq Béninois sur 10 participants ont été distingués lors du concours Africa Digital Forensics organisé par l'Office des Nations Unies contre la drogue et le crime.

Africa Digital Forensics Challenge 2021 a réuni 282 participants venus de 29 pays africains dont 24 Béninois. Ouvert à tous les professionnels africains de cyber sécurité, le challenge a eu lieu durant tout le mois mai 2021. L'objectif du challenge était de « lancer un défi aux experts techniques africains de criminalistique numérique pour leur permettre de se mesurer et de tester leurs connaissances ».
Sous la supervision des managers, les participants ont résolu durant quatre semaines les différentes épreuves portant sur le Disk Analysis, RAM, le networking et l'analyse Android.
Au terme du concours Charli Agossou, Junias Bonou, Bernardin Tonoudji, Ezéckiel Dadjo et Raymond Sodji, tous du bjCSIRT (l'équipe de réponse aux incidents de sécurité informatique) occupent les cinq premières places du challenge sur les dix participants distingués par l'organisation.

L'équipe béninoise avait remporté le premier prix du concours sur la cybersécurité lors du DEV Champions à Ouagadougou au Burkina-Faso. Ces prouesses rehaussent l'image du Bénin au plan continental en matière de cybersécurité.

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Les populations touchées par les crues des eaux ont reçu, jeudi 24 juin 2021, le soutien du gouvernement. Une délégation composée du ministre des Affaires Sociales et de la Microfinance Véronique Tognifodé, du ministre de l'intérieur et de la sécurité publique Alassane Seidou et du ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération Aurélien Agbénonci, était au chevet des sinistrés de Grand-Popo.

Des vivres, une enveloppe financière et autres appuis ont été remis, jeudi 24 juin 2021, aux autorités locales en faveur des populations de Grand-Popo touchées par les inondations. Le gouvernement traduit par ce geste sa compassion et celle de toute la Nation aux sinistrés. La délégation gouvernementale composée de ministre des Affaires Sociales et de la Microfinance Véronique Tognifodé, du ministre de l'intérieur et de la sécurité publique Alassane Seidou et du ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération Aurélien Agbénonci, a saisi l'occasion pour sensibiliser sur les dispositions à prendre en ces temps de crues et sur le respect des consignes de sécurité. Les ministres ont rassuré les populations des dispositions prises par le gouvernement pour veiller à leur protection.
D'autres actions à long terme sont prévues pour contrer les inondations cycliques auxquelles sont confrontées les habitants de Grand-Popo, selon la délégation gouvernementale.
M. M.

Le Bénin a proposé à l'occasion de la deuxième ODR le 17 juin 2021, le taux de coupon de 5,20% sur une maturité de 3 ans. Il s'agit du taux le plus bas proposé par un État de l'Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine depuis 2017.

Le Bénin réalise une nouvelle performance sur le marché financier régional après celle du jeudi 27 mai 2021. Le jeudi 17 juin, le Bénin a émis son deuxième ODR sur la maturité de 3 ans avec un coupon de 5,20% pour une mobilisation de 60 milliards de FCFA.
En dépit du taux de coupon révisé à la baisse, l'opération a été une réussite. Selon UMOA-Titres, l'opération a enregistré un taux de couverture du montant mis en adjudication de 304,40%. Ce qui a permis au Bénin de retenir 66 milliards de FCFA à un prix moyen pondéré de 10 064,83 FCFA, soit un rendement moyen pondéré de 4,96%.

Le 27 mai 2021, le Bénin avait proposé un taux de coupon fixe 5,25%. L'opération organisée en collaboration avec UMOA-Titres portait sur un volume à mobiliser de 60 milliards de FCFA sur trois (03) ans. Le montant global des soumissions est évalué à 171 milliards de FCFA. Le Bénin n'a retenu que 66 milliards de FCFA. Les Obligations de Relance (ODR ) ont été lancées par UMOA-Titres en collaboration avec la Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) afin de permettre aux Etats membres de l'UMOA de financer leurs plans de relance économique massifs suite à la pandémie du Covid-19.
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Die Überraschung war gross, als Florian Silbereisen gestern plötzlich als Kopf der neuen «DSDS»-Jury vorgestellt wurde. Sogar der Sänger selbst soll davon nichts gewusst haben.

« Alger rejoint officiellement les zones d’ombre », peut-on lire ces derniers jours sur les réseaux sociaux en commentaire a plusieurs images et vidéos de citoyens qui souffrent du manque de l’eau potable. C’est dans ce contexte que des citoyens ont décidé de recourir, aujourd’hui, à la fermeture d’une des routes principales de la wilaya d’Alger, celle […]

L’article Crise de l’eau : des citoyens ferment la route à Alger est apparu en premier sur .

"In the context of the exponential growth of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the President of the European Parliament has announced a number of measures to contain the spread of epidemic and to safeguard Parliament's core activities.

The current precautionary measures adopted by the European Parliament to contain the spread of COVID-19 do not affect work on legislative priorities. Core activities are reduced, but maintained to ensure that the institution's legislative, budgetary, scrutiny functions are maintained.

The meetings will be with remote participation for Members (being able to view and listen to proceedings, ask for the floor and intervene in the meeting). Other participants are invited to follow the meeting through webstreaming.

Following these decisions, the next ordinary AFET Committee meetings will take place on 28 June (via videoconference).

EP Calendar 2021
AFET-SEDE-DROI meetings
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Der FCSG steckt mitten in der Saisonvorbereitung. Leonidas Stergiou und Lukas Görtler nehmen bei Blick TV Stellung.

En 2016, des pirates nord-coréens ont planifié un raid d'un milliard de dollars sur la banque nationale du Bangladesh et sont passés à deux doigts de réussir. Mais comment ont-ils procédé ?

En 2016, des pirates nord-coréens ont planifié un raid d'un milliard de dollars sur la banque nationale du Bangladesh et sont passés à deux doigts de réussir. Mais comment ont-ils procédé ?

MTI: Az euró 351,52 forinton forgott este fél nyolckor, 1 forint 27 fillérrel nőtt az árfolyama a reggeli 350,25 forinthoz képest. A napi kereskedésben a 348,97 és a 351,75 forint közötti sávban mozgott az euró jegyzése. A dollárért reggel fél nyolckor 293,73 forintot, este viszont 294,61 forintot kellett adni.

Corona-Infektionen gab es schon weit vor dem ersten Nachweis – das haben Forscher anhand von einer neuen Datenmodellierung festgestellt. Damit nahm die Pandemie schon weit vor Wuhan ihren schlimmen Verlauf.