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Er will nur noch nach Hause – nach Mexiko. Der Drogenboss Joaquín «El Chapo» Guzmán hat wegen seiner Haftbedingungen in den USA ein «SOS» an Mexikos Staatschef Andrés Manuel López Obrador gesandt.

Die Niederlande meldeten im Jahr 2022 insgesamt 13.949 Cyberstraftaten, fast dreimal so viele wie im Jahr 2019.

Que ce soit sur le marchés officiel ou le marché parallèle de change, le dinar algérien reste en difficulté devant les principales devises. Pour ce jeudi 19 janvier 2023, à la Banque d’Algérie, l’Euro maintient sa hausse, il est donc cédé au niveau des guichets de la banque d’Algérie pour 146.89 dinars algériens à l’achat […]

L’article Taux de change du dinar face aux principales devises ce 19 janvier est apparu en premier sur .

Europa Kompakt ist der morgendliche Newsletter von EURACTIV.

MTI: Baleset és a biztosítóberendezés meghibásodása miatt késnek a vonatok a hegyeshalmi fővonalon - közölte a Mávinform csütörtökön az MTI-vel.

US-Africa Leaders Summit. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Pauline Muchina and Emira Woods
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19 2023 (IPS)

United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is traveling to South Africa, Zambia, and Senegal this week in the hopes of strengthening U.S.-Africa relations at a time of waning U.S. influence on the continent — the first in a series of Biden administration trips announced at last month’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

As African women leaders working for peace and climate justice, we welcome this renewed engagement with a region that is too often sidelined. But meetings and photo-ops are not enough.

If the United States wants the trust of the African people, we need more than words. We need tangible action to materially improve the lives of communities across the continent.

There are two steps the Biden administration could take today to do just that: supporting a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for cost-free, debt-free crisis relief, and providing additional financial support for the Loss and Damage Fund agreed to at COP27, the most recent UN Climate Conference.

Three years since the COVID-19 outbreak, under one-third of Africans have received a single vaccination dose. Economic growth in Africa slowed “sharply” in 2022, due to a worldwide economic slump, inflation, and an ongoing series of shocks.

The World Bank is warning of a “sharp, long-lasting slowdown” in 2023 that will “hit developing countries hard.” One-fifth of Africa’s population faces chronic hunger—double the world average—and the climate crisis is only deepening these stark statistics.

For perspective: Driven by climate and conflict, half of Somalia’s population faces acute food insecurity. Trekking for weeks to refugee camps for food, many Somalis are forced to bury starved loved ones in shallow graves.

Against such challenges, the 2021 issuance of $650 billion in SDRs by the International Monetary Fund provided a lifeline for millions of Africans. SDRs are a reserve asset that can be issued in times of crisis at no cost to the U.S. or any other country. Developing countries can then use these SDRs to pay debts, stabilize currencies, or fund critical purchases like vaccines and food supplies.

Since the 2021 issuance, over 100 low- and middle-income countries have used their SDRs for often life-saving care for their citizens. African countries used SDRs more than any other region, with 47 of 54 African nations using some or all of their allocation.

Though last year’s SDR issuance was impactful, it was not enough. That’s why African leaders like African Union Chair Macky Sall and finance ministers across the continent are calling for a new SDR issuance of at least the same size.

The UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy, and Finance; dozens of US lawmakers; the International Chamber of Commerce; and nearly 150 civil society organizations worldwide also support the proposal.

Additionally, African countries must be compensated for the harms caused by a climate crisis for which they bear little responsibility. Despite having contributed the least of any continent to greenhouse gas emissions, Africa remains the most vulnerable to climate change.

Nineteen million Africans have been affected by extreme weather events in 2022 alone, and cyclones and droughts wrought havoc on infrastructure, agriculture, and domestic economies.

In the words of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, “you cannot set fire on someone’s house and sell them the fire extinguisher, or worse still, loan them money to rebuild it.” The Loss and Damage Fund will provide climate reparations through financial support to nations most vulnerable to climate shocks.

The Fund’s impact, however, will only be as strong as the world’s commitment. While nations like Germany and Belgium have made symbolic pledges to the fund, current contributions fail to address the existential magnitude of the crisis. Increased U.S. financial backing will pave the way for additional support from other high-income countries.

Naysayers may balk at the cost of these proposals, or suggest they do not align with U.S. national interests. However, a new SDR issuance, while costing nothing to U.S. taxpayers, would foster global economic—and therefore political—stability, while proving U.S. responsiveness to African needs.

Following the passage of the highest-ever Pentagon budget, the Biden Administration should recall their own analysis that climate change exacerbates global security challenges.

Instead of paying massive sums for weapons of war, often in the name of debunked strategies to counter terrorism, the U.S. should invest in measures that address the root causes of violent conflict in places like Somalia and the Sahel.

During last month’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, 60 organizations, including Partners In Health, Africans Rising, and Friends of the Earth US, called on President Biden to support these two urgent proposals. At the time, he failed to do so.

As Secretary Yellen travels to our continent, the administration has another opportunity to move beyond rhetoric and toward action to improve the lives of Africa’s 1.2 billion people.

Supporting a new SDR issuance and contributing funding for the Loss and Damage Fund would go a long way toward salving the ever-present economic wounds of colonialism, addressing the climate crisis, and bolstering opportunities for Africans to chart their own course in the 21st century and beyond.

Pauline Muchina comes from the Rift Valley in Kenya, where her family still resides. She is the Policy, Education and Advocacy Coordinator for Africa for the American Friends Service Committee in Washington, DC, and the Chair of the COVID-19 Working Group of the Advocacy Network for Africa.

Emira Woods, originally from Liberia, is the Executive Director of Green Leadership Trust and an ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity, a network of African social movements on the continent and the diaspora.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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EU-Chef Charles Michel erklärte am Donnerstagmorgen (19. Januar), er sei auf dem Weg nach Kyjiw, um mit Präsident Wolodymyr Selenskyj zu besprechen, welche "konkreten Maßnahmen" Europa zur Unterstützung der Ukraine ergreifen kann.

Albanien ist nach einem schweren Cyberangriff aus dem Iran im Jahr 2022 immer noch täglich mit Attacken konfrontiert, sagte Premierminister Edi Rama am Dienstag (18. Januar) auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos.

Das portugiesische Gesundheitsministerium hat eine Preiserhöhrung auf günstige Medikamente angekündigt, um Engpässe in der Versorgung vorzubeugen.

Die Abholzungsmaßnahmen der finnischen Regierung zur Ausdünnung der Wälder in der Region Aalistunturi wurden am Mittwoch fortgesetzt, nachdem die Polizei ein von Umweltschützer:innen errichtetes Protestcamp geräumt hatte.

A Sajó áradása miatt lezárták a Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén vármegyei Putnok és Sajóvelezd közötti mellékutat szerda este, majd csütörtök hajnalban a 26-os főút és Sajókaza közötti alsóbbrendű utat is – közölte a Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt. az MTI-vel.

In diesem erschütternden Video ist zu sehen, wie mehrere Personen versuchen, die 56-jährige Susan Denise aus Farmingville, New York, aus ihrem brennenden Fahrzeug herauszuziehen. Ihr Auto gerät am Montag nach einem Unfall in Brand, was ihr beinahe das Leben kostet.

Bei seinem Sieg in der 2. Runde der Australian Open verliert Andrei Rublew (25) zwischenzeitlich die Nerven und blafft den Stuhlschiedsrichter an.

La guerre de la Russie contre l'Ukraine a amené les autorités chinoises à porter un regard différent sur leur propre politique internationale. Les responsables chinois ont été choqués par les échecs de Poutine dans la guerre et ont envisagé d'améliorer leurs relations avec certains pays occidentaux, selon les médias occidentaux.

Die österreichische Regierung will die Belastung der Haushalte durch die hohen Strompreise verringern, indem sie 80 Prozent der Netztarife übernimmt, während die Behörden versuchen, gegen die Preistreiberei der Versorgungsunternehmen vorzugehen.

Direkt beteiligte bulgarische Politiker:innen wollen sich weiterhin nicht offen dazu bekennen, sich bewusst gewesen zu sein, dass viele der 2022 aus dem Land exportierten Waffen schlussendlich für die Ukraine bestimmt waren.

Im tschechischen Präsidentschaftswahlkampf versucht der ehemalige Ministerpräsident Andrej Babiš mit guten Beziehungen zu europäischen Spitzenpolitiker:innen Eindruck zu schinden. Doch der Chef der EU-Christdemokraten (EVP), Manfred Weber, betont, in Brüssel werde Babiš nicht mit offenen Armen erwartet.

MTI: Az euró árfolyama reggel fél hétkor 395,54 forintra emelkedett a szerda esti 393,38 forintról. A svájci frank jegyzése 397,56 forintról 399,90 forintra erősödött, a dollár pedig 363,66 forintról 366,35 forintra drágult.

EU chief Charles Michel on Thursday (19 January) said he was on his way to Kyiv to discuss with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy what "concrete measures" Europe can take to support Ukraine.

Die italienische Filmdiva Gina Lollobrigida ist anfangs Woche verstorben. Am Donnerstagmittag wird sie beerdigt.