Archive for September 21st, 2017

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21/09/2017

Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Opens for Signature

Human Wrongs Watch

The world’s first legally-binding treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons on 20 September 2017 opened for signature at United Nations Headquarters in New York at a ceremony at which speakers from international organizations, governments and civil society hailed this milestone in achieving a world free of such arsenals as well as the work that remains to be done.

Signing ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, 20 September 2017. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

“The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the product of increasing concerns over the risk posed by the continued existence of nuclear weapons, including the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of their use,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the ceremony, held on the margins of the General Assembly’s high-level debate.

Posted in Climate Crisis | Leave a Comment »

21/09/2017

Poor Orphan Crops… So Valuable, So Neglected

Human Wrongs Watch

By Baher Kamal*

ROME, Sep 20 2017 (IPS) – When ‘think-tankers’ in the mid-1990s formulated their famous “think global, act local” slogan, they probably did not expect humankind to require a couple of decades to implement such practical advice.

A group of people heading towards Mangoky River (Madagascar) past Baobab trees. Baobab leaves and fruits are sources of food for people and fodder for animals. Credit: FAO/Aris Mihich

At least this has been the case for the so-called ‘neglected’, ‘under-utilised’, ‘minor’ or ‘promising’ crops, which have been forgotten over the last century.

Now scientists and policymakers are beginning to recognise the value of these colourfully dubbed ‘orphan’ crops, affirming what local communities have already known for generations.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

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