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Das Bundesamt für Sozialversicherungen hat Berechnungsfehler bei der AHV entdeckt. Über Jahre hat man mit viel höheren Ausgaben gerechnet, als tatsächlich zu erwarten sind.

Zwölf Jahre nach seinem Einzel-Gold in London reitet Steve Guerdat in Paris zu Olympia-Silber. Als Schlussreiter im Stechen muss er aufs Tempo drücken, dann fällt eine Stange. Olympiasieger wird der Deutsche Christian Kukuk.

Höhenwege bieten einen herrlichen Ausblick über die Landschaft, wobei die Sicht je nach Wanderung über Täler, Berge, Seen oder auch Städte reicht. Welcher Höhenweg ist dein Favorit? Wir sammeln die besten Tipps der Community.

Die Schweizer Teams kennen ihre Gegner auf dem Weg zu den europäischen Wettbewerben, die erstmals in einem neuen Modus über die Bühne gehen. Was ist neu in der Champions, Europa und Conference League? Wann wird gespielt? Und wie viel Geld gibt es zu verdienen?

Israels fährt eine Politik der strategischen Zweideutigkeit in Bezug auf sein Atomwaffenarsenal. Das mache es „schwierig zu wissen“, wie nahe dran die derzeitige Krise im Nahen Osten an einem Atomkrieg ist, eine Gruppe von Atomwaffengegnern.

Unfall auf dem Zugerberg: Weil die eine Seite seines Gleitschirms einklappte, stürzte ein 83-jähriger Mann am Sonntag mehrere Meter in die Tiefe. Wie durch ein Wunder wurde der Senior nur leicht verletzt.

A look at Lesotho, where more people take their own lives than anywhere else in the world.

A look at Lesotho, where more people take their own lives than anywhere else in the world.

A look at Lesotho, where more people take their own lives than anywhere else in the world.

Die Zahl der Arbeitslosen in der Schweiz hat im Juli leicht zugenommen. Die Quote verharrte gleichwohl bei 2,3 Prozent. Saisonbereinigt stieg die Quote allerdings leicht an.

Der Meeressäuger treibt in der Salish Sea vor dem US-Bundesstaat Washington im Wasser. Wie eine Expertin sagt, hat der Wal seine Flosse wahrscheinlich verloren, weil er sich in Fischereiausrüstung verfangen hatte.

The European Parliament has long championed protection of human rights worldwide. To guarantee basic rights for everyone, it is important that those who violate human rights are punished. The EU adopted its own global human rights sanctions regime (EU GHRSR) in 2020, under which it can freeze assets and ban travel for people and organisations who seriously violate or abuse human rights, irrespective of where the infringement occurs. The EU applied its first human rights sanctions in March 2021 and by April 2024 had imposed restrictive measures on 108 individuals and 28 entities.

Even though Parliament has no formal role in the procedure for adopting new sanction regimes, it makes sure the human rights sanctions regime stays on the EU’s agenda. Parliament worked across three parliamentary terms between 2010 and 2020, using hearings, parliamentary questions, motions and own-initiative resolutions to call for EU-wide measures. After a 2018 position paper from the Dutch government led to discussion among EU Member States, Parliament stepped up its action, devoting a plenary debate to EU human rights sanctions in 2019, and adopting a resolution setting out recommendations. It adopted a further resolution in 2020, calling for the work to be finalised.

In May 2023, the High Representative, supported by the Commission, proposed to establish an EU foreign and security policy sanctions regime to target serious acts of corruption worldwide. The Commission and some Member States also support Parliament’s demand for Council decisions on sanctions to be adopted under qualified majority voting.

With attention now turning to the impact and effectiveness of the EU’s human rights sanctions, Parliament is pushing for a greater institutional role for itself, including parliamentary oversight of the EU GHRSR and an enhanced role in proposing cases for investigation. In 2023, a Parliament study recommended ways to expand its involvement in monitoring and scrutinising implementation and enforcement of EU sanctions, for example through a dedicated parliamentary working group, development of an in-house monitoring capability, and more structured dialogue with other EU institutions on specific sanctions measures.

By pushing for external action and setting the EU’s agenda, Parliament ensures the issue of a human rights sanctions regime remains an EU priority. Parliament’s powers fall broadly into six, often overlapping, domains: law-making, the budget, scrutiny of the executive, external relations, and, to a lesser extent, constitutional affairs and agenda-setting. This graphic shows more examples of areas where Parliament used one or more of its different powers to influence legislation:

Mapping the European Parliament’s powers in different areas

For a fuller picture of the European Parliament’s activity over the past five years, take a look at our publication Examples of Parliament’s impact: 2019 to 2024: Illustrating the powers of the European Parliament, from which this case is drawn.

A bejrúti repülőtér indulási terminálján zsúfolásig megteltek az utasok, mivel több légitársaság törölte a libanoni fővárosba tartó és onnan induló járatait.

Franciaország mostantól azon országok közé tartozik, amelyek sürgetik állampolgáraikat Libanon mielőbbi elhagyására. A közel-keleti konfliktus eszkalációjától tartva korábban az Egyesült Államok és az Egyesült Királyság is felszólította állampolgárait, hogy hagyják el Libanont és Izraelt.

Svédország szintén hasonló lépést tett, és bejelentette bejrúti nagykövetségének bezárását. A bejrúti repülőtér indulási terminálján hatalmas sorok alakultak ki a járattörlések miatt.

A közel-keleti helyzet kapcsán a G7-országok külügyminiszterei vasárnap önmérsékletre intették a konfliktusban részt vevő feleket, és a feszültség enyhítését szorgalmazták.

The post Franciaország is felszólítja állampolgárait, hogy hagyják el Libanont appeared first on Biztonságpiac.

Die Lohnrunde für das kommende Jahr beginnt. Die Arbeitnehmerorganisation Angestellte Schweiz fordert 2,2 Prozent mehr. Der Arbeitgeberverband drückt auf die Bremse.

Marina A., eine ehemalige Hausangestellte von Ex-Credit-Suisse-Chef Tidjane Thiam, steht am Dienstag in Meilen ZH vor Gericht. Die 43-jährige Rumänin hatte Thiam per E-Mail erpresst und gedroht, ihn beim Internationalen Olympischen Komitee anzuschwärzen.

ECOWAS. Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria, July 7, 2024.

By Kingsley Ighobor
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 6 2024 (IPS)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was founded in 1975 to promote economic integration in the region. Forty-nine years later, the regional bloc boasts significant successes in integration, peace and security and good governance, but also faces some challenges.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, participated in a high-level event at the UN headquarters in New York in June 2024, focusing on regional unity, peace and security in West Africa.

In an interview with Kingsley Ighobor following the event, Ambassador Musah, speaking on behalf of ECOWAS, highlighted the organization’s achievements and challenges, as well as ongoing efforts to strengthen integration. These are excerpts from the interview.

Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security

ECOWAS was founded on 28 May 1975. What are its achievements so far?

The achievements of ECOWAS over the last 49 years can be encapsulated in one key point: we have transitioned from creating an organization to building a community.

ECOWAS was created at the very height of the Cold War. The only possible area for people to come together and find common ground was economic integration, not political or ideological.

The protocol on the free movement of persons, goods and services (1976) permits citizens the right of abode in any member state and has been an ECOWAS calling card over the years. It is a major achievement that people in West Africa do not have to think about a visa when they cross borders within the region.

There was a lot of turmoil in Africa post-Cold War; without ECOWAS the whole region could have been engulfed in fratricidal wars. If you remember, a war started in Liberia towards the end of 1989 and continued throughout the 1990s, spreading to Sierra Leone and affecting Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.

There is a lot the region can be proud of—the fact that ECOWAS is now a trademark, a pioneer in regional integration on the continent.

A: ECOWAS intervened through its multilateral armed forces, the Economic Community of West African States Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), which stabilized the situation and eventually provided a soft landing for the United Nations peacekeepers who came in subsequently.

On economic integration?

On economic integration, we can talk about many achievements. It is not just about the free movement of persons; it is also about creating a common market for the region. It is about helping countries develop infrastructure—energy, internet connectivity, and building road networks across the region.

This is ongoing. However, learning from the sad events of the 1990s characterized by civil wars and implosion of States, ECOWAS had no choice but to pivot to security matters and good governance.

Today, the values of democracy and human rights are very much embedded in West African culture, and ECOWAS is part and parcel of that process. West Africa is the only region in Africa that does not have an open, high-intensity conflict, despite the activities of Violent Extremist Groups.

There is a lot the region can be proud of—the fact that ECOWAS is now a trademark, a pioneer in regional integration on the continent. It provided a lot of the basis for the African Union’s frameworks.

ECOWAS morphed from an economic bloc into both an economic and political union. Is this correct?

Yes, it is.

Some ECOWAS members have indicated their intention to pull out of the group. Are there efforts to ensure they remain?

ECOWAS is a community. We have solidarity. We may have challenges or differences, but pulling out is not the answer. The countries intending to pull out talk about their Pan-African ambitions and other things, but the basis of Pan-Africanism is integration. Given that disintegration will not promote Pan-Africanism, we are doing everything we can to have them remain in the fold.

However, it is important to note that a country cannot just decide one day to withdraw from ECOWAS. There are procedures to follow, in accordance with Article 91 of the ECOWAS Treaty.

Several diplomatic engagements are going on behind the scenes to reunite the ECOWAS bloc.

What gives you hope these efforts will succeed?

What gives us hope is that ECOWAS held its extraordinary summit in February 2024 and lifted the severe sanctions against Niger, and we further encouraged them to return to the Community. We hope they understand that the advantages of being together far outweigh the disadvantages.

Talking about advantages, what further incentives do you provide these countries to encourage them to maintain their membership?

I spoke earlier about ECOWAS’ free movement of people, goods and services. About 10 million citizens of these countries are spread across the region. As we speak, 4.5 million Burkinabe citizens live in Côte d’Ivoire alone. If they withdraw from ECOWAS, the status of their citizens will change dramatically. They will have to regularize their stay, and those who cannot regularize will need to return to their countries.

We talk about trade liberalization. Intra-African trade is just about 15 percent. Within the ECOWAS region, exports from these three countries to other parts of West Africa do not go beyond 17 percent. What ECOWAS gets from them is meat products, vegetables and so on. Whereas they get energy and many manufactured goods from the other countries with virtually no tariffs attached.

The values of democracy and human rights are very much embedded in West African culture, and ECOWAS is part and parcel of that process.

Do not forget the three countries are landlocked. They will need outlets to the sea, which is being provided today under very favourable conditions within the framework of regional integration. If they pull out, they will have to find alternative outlets or pay higher freight charges and tariffs. It will take a lot of time and resources to do that.

We are also about community solidarity, which is something people take for granted. In fact, the three countries together consume more than 52 percent of the ECOWAS strategic food reserves, which is about 15,000 tonnes of food. Landlocked countries or those ravaged by cyclical droughts need such support.

Finally, the most effective way of combating violent extremism is by sharing intelligence and cross-border military cooperation. If they separate from us, how do they effectively fight violent extremists? We need them back in the family and I hope they rescind their decision.

Could their withdrawal have reputational consequences for ECOWAS?

A withdrawal will neither be good for them nor for ECOWAS because in international diplomacy today, strength lies in numbers. If we remain 15 member states, our influence in international diplomacy is greater. If they leave, ECOWAS will be weakened. This is something we must consider.

Remember that ECOWAS is an organization of solidarity. If you are seeking positions in international organizations like the UN and others, ECOWAS comes together and backs a candidate. For the sake of solidarity, we will back those who are within the community.

So diplomatically speaking, security-wise, politically, it is bad for both sides. But on balance, it is very much not in their favour.

Source: Africa Renewal, a United Nations digital magazine that covers Africa’s economic, social and political developments—plus the challenges the continent faces and the solutions to these by Africans themselves, including with the support of the United Nations and international community.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Amira Pocher spricht erstmals über die Scheidung von Oliver Pocher und die heftigen Vorwürfe seiner Anwältin vor Gericht.

Die Szene geht viral: Esmée Böbner sitzt vor dem Achtelfinal im Sand, liest in einem Buch und isst eine Banane. Die Beachvolleyballerin erklärt ihr neues Ritual.

L'Albanie brûle, comme la Grèce, la Macédoine du Nord, la Croatie... En Bulgarie, des incendies ont même touché des usines et des entrepôts, causant la mort de quatre personnes. Dépassées, les autorités bulgares ont de plus en plus besoin de l'aide des bénévoles et de la solidarité des pays de l'UE.

- Articles / Une - Diaporama, Une - Diaporama - En premier, Courrier des Balkans, Bulgarie, Environnement, changement climatique

Cyberkriminelle verschicken gefälschte Briefe im Namen der Zürcher Kantonalbank. Die Kantonspolizei Zürich warnt vor der Betrugsmasche.