10/10/2012
By Brian Blomme*, Greenpeace – They poured onto the sites of two nuclear reactor plants in Sweden this morning with minimal problems: more than 70 Greenpeace activists, from five countries, conducted peaceful stress tests of the sites. The goal: to show how weak security arrangements are at the two plants.
(Images © Greenpeace)
At the Forsmark nuclear site, on the east coast of Sweden, 50 activists put ladders up against a chain link fence, scaled over the so-called ‘barrier’ and got up close to the reactor buildings. One activist was on the site for four hours before she was discovered!
Apparently a Forsmark spokesperson told the media: “We can confirm that GP came in over the fence, as usual.” Yes … today wasn’t the first time Greenpeace Sweden got on to the site.
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09/10/2012
Italy must prioritize a human rights approach when dealing with migration, a United Nations independent expert said, urging the Government to not let security concerns overshadow its border management policy.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, made six recommendations to the Italian Government after having spent nine days in the country meeting with Government representatives, civil society and international organizations, as well as many migrants, the UN reported.
His recommendations address Italy’s management of the European Union’s (EU) external borders, ranging from agreements with Libya and other neighbours, to full access by international organizations to migrants, as well as improving appeal systems to challenge expulsions.
Italy must ensure that “migration cooperation with Libya does not lead to any migrant being returned to Libyan shores against their will, either by Italian authorities, or by Libyan authorities with the technical or logistical support of their Italian counterparts,” Crépeau said, adding that bilateral re-admission agreements between Italy and its neighbours must have human rights at their core.
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09/10/2012
Rome, 9 October 2012 – Almost 870 million people, or one in eight, are suffering from chronic malnutrition, according to a new United Nations report released today, which shows a sharp decline in the number of undernourished people over the past two decades, but warns that immediate action is still needed to tackle hunger particularly in developing countries.
Somali refugee children at the Buramino camp in Ethiopia. Photo: WFP/Jiro Ose
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012 (SOFI), which was jointly published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), reveals that the number of hungry declined more sharply between 1990 and 2007 than previously believed. The new estimates are based on an improved methodology and data for the last two decades, the agencies said in a news release.
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09/10/2012
By Nick Beams, WSWS*, 9 October 2012 – The annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank starting in Tokyo today is being held amid growing signs that the world economy is headed for a major downturn.
Old man hit by Riot Police in demonstrations in Athens. Photo credit: Ggia | Wikimedia Commons.
According to a leaked report, the IMF has lowered its forecast for world growth in 2012 to 3.3 percent, down from the estimate of 3.4 percent in July. The world growth forecast for next year was cut to 3.6 percent, down from the estimate of 3.9 percent three months ago. It predicted that the euro zone economy would shrink by 0.4 percent this year and expand by only 0.2 percent in 2013. It says that “the further cooling of global economic growth this year and next year” will be “accompanied by a significant increase in downside risks.”
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09/10/2012
Tokyo, IMF*, 9 October 2012 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) presented a gloomier picture of the global economy than a few months ago, saying prospects have deteriorated further and risks increased. Overall, the IMF’s forecast for global growth was marked down to 3.3 percent this year and a still sluggish 3.6 percent in 2013.
Source: IMF
In its latest World Economic Outlook, unveiled in Tokyo ahead of the IMF-World Bank 2012 Annual Meetings, the IMF said advanced economies are projected to grow by 1.3 percent this year, compared with 1.6 percent last year and 3.0 percent in 2010, with public spending cutbacks and the still-weak financial system weighing on prospects.
“Growth in emerging market and developing economies was marked down compared with forecasts in July and April to 5.3 percent, against 6.2 percent last year. Leading emerging markets such as China, India, Russia, and Brazil will all see slower growth. Growth in the volume of world trade is projected to slump to 3.2 percent this year from 5.8 percent last year and 12.6 percent in 2010.”
“Low growth and uncertainty in advanced economies are affecting emerging market and developing economies through both trade and financial channels, adding to homegrown weaknesses,” said IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard.
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08/10/2012
By Uri Avnery*, TRANSCEND – My first reaction to Binyamin Netanyahu’s exhibition of comics at the UN General Assembly was shame.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel addresses the General Assembly. UN Photo/J Carrier
Shame that the supreme elected representative of my country would stoop to such a primitive rhetorical device, bordering on the childish.
(One Israeli commentator suggested putting him on a rug with a lot of paper and Indian ink, and letting him play to his heart’s content.)
He was speaking to a half-empty chamber (Israeli TV was careful not to show the entire hall during the speech), and the audience consisted of second-grade diplomats, but these were still educated people.
Even Netanyahu must have realized that they would despise this display. But Netanyahu was not talking to them at all. He was talking to the Jewish audience at home and in the US.
This audience was proud of him. He succeeded in touching their deepest emotions.
To understand this, one must recall the historical memories. Jews were a small, powerless community everywhere. They were completely dependent on the Gentile ruler.
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08/10/2012
Several dozen species – ranging from elephants, polar bears, sharks and manta rays to medicinal plants and rare trees – will receive additional protection under a United Nations-backed treaty for the conservation of endangered species if new proposals are adopted at a world wildlife meeting next March.
A forest elephant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: UNESCO
More than 50 countries submitted 67 proposals for consideration under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) by the 4 October midnight deadline, and these will now be discussed at a meeting of treaty parties in Bangkok, Thailand, from 3 to 14 March, coinciding with its 40th anniversary, the UN reports.
“CITES is where the rubber ‘hits the road’ and the outcome of our world wildlife conference in 2013 will be of great significance to the future of many species of plants and animals,” said John E. Scanlon, the Secretary-General of the Convention, the secretariat of which is administered by the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) in Geneva.
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08/10/2012
By IRIN*, Mytilene, Greece – Just as Greece appears to have successfully stemmed the flow of undocumented migrants crossing the land border with Turkey, a new influx of migrants and asylum seekers has started arriving on its eastern Aegean islands.
**Police detain Syrian migrants on the Greek island of Lesvos. With nowhere else to accomodate them, migrants are kept in police station cells for several days or even weeks © Kristy Siegfried/IRIN
European border agency Frontex estimates the islands have been receiving about 200 migrants per week since the August launch of an operation that deployed an additional 2,000 police officers to the Greek-Turkish border.
“There is some displacement effect,” said Frontex press officer Ewa Moncure, who added that a smaller number of migrants was also attempting to reach Europe via Bulgaria.
Although Greek territories, the islands are just a few kilometres from the Turkish coast, and are reachable in the right weather conditions by smugglers in even flimsy inflatable boats. The route, however, is much more perilous than a land crossing and has already resulted in fatalities.
During just one incident in September, involving a boat that struck underwater rocks and sank just off the Turkish coast, 61 migrants died, including 31 children.
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08/10/2012
By IRIN* – Johannesburgo – Disaster reduction experts have been calling on countries to “climate-proof” infrastructure like roads, but until now, there have been no studies showing the scale or importance of these interventions.
**Photo: Majdoline Hatoum/IRIN
A recent study by the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four says developing countries will have to spend about US$200-300 billion per year by 2020 to construct public infrastructure – like bridges, power supplies and roads – that are not only environmentally friendly but can also withstand extreme changes in temperature and rainfall.
The study, co-authored by economist Nicholas Stern, says developing countries are spending $0.8-0.9 trillion per year on infrastructure, the majority of which is financed by domestic budgets. To keep up with population growth, cover existing gaps, and make infrastructure climate-resilient as well, countries will have to spend a total of $1.8-2.3 trillion per year by 2020.
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07/10/2012
Cairo – The women of Egypt played a huge role in the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. They were on the frontlines, standing shoulder to shoulder with men in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, demanding “Bread, Freedom and Social Justice.” Their participation in the eighteen-day mass protests raised hopes for greater inclusion of women in the decision-making process and an end to the gender discriminatory policies of the past.
Egyptian women celebrate the one year anniversary of the country’s revolution in Cairo. Amr Abdel-Hadi | Demotix | Source: UNCUT
However since the January 25 2011 revolution Egyptian women’s voices have been drowned out, and the “new Egypt” continues to marginalise women.
Today, as the country’s new constitution is being written, hopes are fading that Egypt’s new governing code will guarantee full and equal participation of women, and there are growing concerns that women may even lose rights gained in recent years.
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HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 