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A megbízott nyomozó leállította a Boris Kollár (Sme rodina) házelnök diplomamunkája ügyében, szerzői jogok megsértése gyanújával indított büntetőeljárást.

Nach Kritik von Präsident Jair Bolsonaro an geplanten Schliessungen von Filialen ist der Chef der grössten öffentlichen Bank Brasiliens zurückgetreten. André Brandão habe angesichts des wachsenden Drucks auf staatliche Unternehmen seinen Rückzug eingereicht.

Cinq pays européens de Méditerranée, Chypre, Espagne, Grèce, Italie et Malte se réunissent vendredi à Athènes pour aborder des « propositions communes » sur le nouveau pacte migratoire européen et « le mécanisme de renvoi des migrants » déboutés du droit d’asile.

Le président du Conseil européen Charles Michel souhaite lier davantage les régions aux plans de relance nationaux actuels. Telle est la conclusion de son entretien avec le Comité des Régions (CdR) mercredi (17 mars). Un article d’Euractiv Allemagne.

Trotz Ehevertrag könnte es zwischen Kim Kardashian und Kanye West zum Rosenkrieg kommen. Es droht Ärger in Millionenhöhe.

The practice of multinational companies sponsoring the governments which hold the EU's rotating presidency, while lobbying the same ministers, is a rotten practice that must stop, write Vicky Cann, Suzy Sumner, and Manuel Araujo.

2011 unterstützte die NATO die Rebellengruppen in Libyen, die sich gegen Machthaber Muammar al-Gaddafi erhoben hatten. Doch die mit der Intervention verbundenen Hoffnungen erfüllten sich kaum. Eine Bilanz.

Entre 2016 et 2019 seulement, la Commission a dépensé plus de 462 millions d'euros dans des contrats avec les auditeurs PwC, EY, KPMG et Deloitte, connus sous le nom de Big Four dans le secteur du conseil, selon des estimations publiées par EURACTIV jeudi.

A woman in Madagascar walks for up to 14km a day to find clean water. Credit: UNICEF/Safidy Andrianantenain

By Jonathan Farr
LONDON, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

For many, the last year will be remembered as the time our day-to-day lives screeched to a halt. As Covid-19 spread mercilessly across the world, wreaking havoc on health and livelihoods, world leaders, health experts and scientists grappled with how to protect populations and stem the tide of the virus.

It is right that attention has been focused on the immediate threat posed by the pandemic; the global death toll has surpassed 2.6 million people and we have suffered the worst decline in the global economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

But while coronavirus has consumed every aspect of our monotonous daily existence for the past year, as we build back, we have a moral responsibility to ensure nobody is left behind as we tackle an even bigger global crisis – climate change.

With our world warming at an alarming rate, it is becoming harder for the world’s poorest people to get clean water. WaterAid’s latest report: “Turn the tide: The state of the world’s water 2021” highlights how people are losing access to clean water and why it is a matter of utmost urgency that we take steps to protect people living in the most climate vulnerable countries of the world.

The 2.2 billion people who do not have a reliable and safe supply of water are without the most fundamental protection against climate change. Extreme weather such as prolonged droughts dry up water sources like springs and wells, while rising sea levels and flooding pollute poorly protected water supplies, threatening to put progress on bringing clean water to all back decades.

With no clean water to drink, cook or wash with, communities falter and people get sick – putting their lives and livelihoods at risk.

By 2040, the situation is predicted to be even worse, with climate change exacerbating the water crisis and helping to make water perilously scarce for 600 million children – that’s 1 in 4, and an increase of 20 per cent since 2010.

To highlight the impact climate change has on people’s access to water, WaterAid created a giant sand portrait on Whitby Beach in the UK ahead of World Water Day on 22 March. It showed an image of 12-year-old Ansha from Ethiopia carrying water on dry, cracked ground, reflecting the impact of drought, while the incoming tide that swept the fleeting art away shows how rising sea levels and excess rainfall can contaminate water.

It is a stark reminder that climate change is happening now and those who have done least to cause it are living with its consequences. Having a reliable source of water is a frontline defence; it means being able to drink clean water every day, whatever the weather.

Less than 1% of total global climate investment goes to basic water infrastructure and services. And whilst there have been endless promises of billions of dollars ($100 billion per year was pledged as part of the UN Climate process in 2009, which has not been delivered) too much is being spent in wealthier countries, rather than providing basic services in poorer communities to help protect against climate change and other threats.

Very few low-income countries are among the top recipients of public climate finance for water, despite being the most vulnerable to climate change. Of the 20 countries receiving the most climate funding for water programmes,19 are middle-income countries.

WaterAid is calling for change. On 31 March, the UK Government will host a virtual Climate and Development event to build momentum towards this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26). WaterAid is urging high income nations to significantly increase their climate finance for adaptation.

This includes fulfilling their previous commitments to give half of the total of climate adaptation finance to vulnerable communities to help them cope with the harsh reality of living with climate change.

The good news is that this is an entirely solvable problem. There is, in most cases, with the right infrastructure, resource management and investment, water available to meet everyone’s domestic needs.

The Covid crisis has shown what we can achieve to protect people in an emergency. We need to draw on that same strength to ensure the next generations never need worry about something as fundamental as having clean water close to home.

For more information: www.wateraid.org

 

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The post Clean Water Vital for Protecting Those on the Frontline of Climate Change in Post-Pandemic World appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The writer is Senior Policy Analyst for WaterAid

 
The UN will be commemorating World Water Day on Monday March 22.

The post Clean Water Vital for Protecting Those on the Frontline of Climate Change in Post-Pandemic World appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Életének 86. évében, hosszan tartó betegség után csütörtökön elhunyt Nagy János felvidéki szobrász- és éremművész, a Magyar Művészeti Akadémia tagja, Tata díszpolgára - közölte a város önkormányzata az MTI-vel.

Ein parteiübergreifender Parlamentsausschuss hat empfohlen, Finnland solle sein Engagement und seine Beteiligung an "Krisenmanagement-Operationen", insbesondere in Afrika, verstärken.

Comme le montrent les derniers chiffres d’Eurostat, la confiance des acteurs économiques parvient plus ou moins à se maintenir malgré la crise sanitaire.

The European Commission’s plan to implement the legally non-binding principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights leads us towards a Social Union rather than a Social Europe. This must be avoided, write a group of EU industry and employer groups.

Alaptalan és bizonyítatlan a vád, miszerint Oroszország beavatkozott a 2020-as amerikai elnökválasztásba – jelentette ki Dmitrij Peszkov, a Kreml szóvivője.

Peszkov arra reagált, hogy az amerikai Nemzeti Hírszerzés Igazgatójának Hivatala (ODNI) kedden jelentést tett közzé, amely szerint az orosz vezetés a kampány során megpróbálta lejáratni Joe Biden jelenlegi elnököt és a mögötte álló politikai erőt, a Demokrata Pártot.

“A jelentést hibásnak tartjuk. Abszolút alaptalan és bizonyítatlan” – mondta az elnöki szóvivő.

Peszkov hangsúlyozta, hogy Moszkvának nincs köze az amerikai elnökjelöltek elleni lejárató kampányokhoz, és nem avatkozott be a választásba. Sajnálkozását fejezte ki amiatt, hogy az ehhez hasonló vádakat az Egyesült Államok ürügyül használhatja fel Oroszország elleni szankciók bevezetéséhez.

Mint mondta, Moszkva a büntetőintézkedések bevezetésével kapcsolatban az összes lehetséges forgatókönyvet figyelembe veszi, és kénytelen lépéseket tenni.

Marija Zaharova külügyi szóvivő a Rosszija 24 hírtelevízióban “a hazugság és a dezinformáció következő adagjának” minősítette az állítólagos orosz beavatkozásról szóló amerikai titkosszolgálati jelentést.

A 15 oldalas dokumentum szerint az orosz kormány – Donald Trump szövetségesein és kormányán keresztül – “megtévesztő vagy megalapozatlan állításokkal” megpróbált beavatkozni a 2020. évi amerikai elnökválasztási kampányba Biden rovására.

The post Moszkva tagadja a beavatkozást az amerikai elnökválasztásba appeared first on .

The European Court of Auditors is examining almost half a billion euro worth of contracts the European Commission has concluded with external consultants to assess whether there is fair value for money in the contracts, a spokesperson of the institution told EURACTIV on Thursday (18 March).

Problems with vaccines just won’t go away, D66 is here to slay and it was tricky to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

Le plastique se retrouve aujourd’hui partout : emballages, construction, textiles, voitures,  appareils électroniques, agriculture. Son utilisation a été multipliée par vingt au cours des  cinquante dernières années et il n'y a pas un secteur qui ne dépende de ce matériau.

After the announcement that France’s left-wing and Green parties will present a common list for the regional elections in the North of France, EURACTIV.fr looks into whether such a strategy could also be adopted for the upcoming 2022 presidential election.

Masha Khromchenko stands in the kindergarten classroom that took a direct hit from a shell in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. The UN Security Council has demanded an end to attacks on schools worldwide. Credit: UNICEF/Christopher Morris

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

The horrendous killings of children in military conflicts and civil wars – both by national armed forces and militant groups – have triggered widespread condemnation by human rights organizations worldwide.

But a “list of shame” singling out some of these perpetrators have been politicized leaving out some of these countries under fire, including Afghanistan, Israel (in the killings in occupied territories), Somalia and Yemen (where the killings are blamed on the aerial attacks by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates).

According to Human Rights Watch, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been repeatedly criticized for letting national armed forces and non-state armed groups off the hook for grave violations against children in war.

The list, first requested by the UN Security Council in 2001, is described as the “linchpin” for UN efforts to protect children in war.

The numbers, however, are staggering, according to a new report released by the Eminent Persons Group, including Lt-General (Ret) Romeo Dallaire, the former UN force commander during Rwanda’s genocide; Yanghee Lee, former chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Benyam Dawit Mezmur, a child rights expert; and Allan Rock, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations.

The group, which released its report last week, has numerous examples of armed forces or groups (typically government forces) that have been omitted or removed from the “list of shame” — notably the Saudi and UAE-led coalition, Israeli forces, Afghan forces, and Myanmar’s military, Tatmadaw

Afghan security forces have reportedly killed or injured more than 4,000 children since 2014 but have not been listed.

In 2014, Israeli forces killed 557 Palestinian children and injured 4,249, largely during fighting in Gaza. But Israeli forces were not on the list of shame– even though the number of children killed was the third highest in the world that year.

In Somalia, the armed group Al-Shabab has been repeatedly listed for sexual violence against children, but the Somali National Army has not been listed, despite comparable numbers of cases.

In 2020, Guterres “delisted” the coalition led by Saudi and United Arab Emirates for killing and maiming children in Yemen, as well as Myanmar’s army for recruiting and using child soldiers.

Yet each was responsible for hundreds of violations the previous year, according to the report.

Jo Becker, Advocacy Director, Children’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told IPS that Guterres has been reluctant to hold all perpetrators to account since he first took office about four years ago.

Asked whether Guterres is paying politics in a year he is seeking re-election, Becker said: “So his failure to list all perpetrators is definitely not just an issue of this being an “election year.”

She said the UN Security Council first requested the annual list, and over the past two decades, has carefully created the UN’s framework for children and armed conflict.

As the architects of the agenda, they should insist that the Secretary-General ensure it functions as it was intended, and that he list all perpetrators, without exception, Becker declared.

But without an accurate list, the UN’s children and armed conflict framework is seriously undermined. The experts urged the secretary-general to change his approach and list all perpetrators “without fear or favor.”

Without such action, they warn, children will be put at even greater risk, said HRW. “The secretary-general should take the experts’ recommendations to heart and put the protection of children first”.

Mouin Rabbani, Senior Fellow with the Institute for Palestine Studies and Co-Editor, Jadaliyya, an independent ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute, told IPS it doesn’t take more than a passing glance at the list of perpetrators included in, and excluded from the list, to understand that these assessments are not the product of a rigorous examination of the evidence, and thus do not represent the conclusions of an appropriately professional process.

“It seems to me indisputable that political factors are in play. In part this consists of the traditional deference to the powerful and their clients, which is compensated for with sanctimonious outrage – which would otherwise be justified – against the weak and marginalized”.

In part, he argued, it reflects electoral considerations, with Guterres gearing up for election to a second term. And in part it reflects financial concerns, with the UN continuing to suffer a budget crunch and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia being once again given a pass.

While there is much discontent with the glaring omissions in the list, which no one has failed to notice, it seems unlikely that the General Assembly will act to rectify, since it is composed of governments and many of them are subject to similar pressures and inducements, said Rabbani.

Asked for a response to the report from the eminent group of experts, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on March 17: “First of all, I have to say we appreciate the views expressed”.

“We have worked… diligently with many partners, including NGOs, and everyone is working towards the same goal: improving the protection of children and wiping out the scourge of children being forced as combatants and, of course, as victims of conflict.’

He pointed out that the Secretary General’s report is one critical tool that is meant to generate action. “I think, year after year, the report and the associated work of all our colleagues on the ground and in New York is to change behaviours in the most difficult circumstances. Our goal is to end and prevent grave violations against children. Each year, we report on progress and setbacks”.

There’s a lot of focus on the list per se, but I think it’s also critical to read the full narrative in the reports every year, which lays out in detail how children are impacted by the conflict and the work that is being done to better protect boys and girls, notably through Plans of Action.

“And I think we have seen, over the years, improvements in some areas with Plans of Action being signed by different combatants. There’s always going to be discussion among people of the conclusions of the report, the methodology, the observations, the recommendations”.

“We stand by them, and we’re always happy to engage with relevant partners in how to improve the system,” he added.

  

The post UN Sanitizes Killings of Children in Armed Conflicts appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Nach dem Austritt aus der EU-Parlamentsfraktion der Europäischen Volkspartei (EVP) Anfang März hat der Fidesz von Ungarns Ministerpräsident Orbán am Donnerstag nun auch die Partei an sich verlassen.