Trade policies which better benefit women across East Africa, can pave the way for more inclusive development and prosperity, according to a new report from the United Nations trade body.
UNCTAD/AdamKane | Women traders in Tanzania have helped to boost growth rate but still face inequality
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Crediting improved education, employment and other key areas, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on 9 May 2018 that East African countries can put better policies in place to address gender inequalities and bring women further into the workforce.
9 May 2018 — In an open letter, a number of well-known European public figures have asked EU leaders to come up with a clear plan for a “revival of the European Union”, saying they feared “a new phase of lethargy” that could encourage a rise of populist parties in the European elections in May 2019.
Visitors queue to enter the European Commission’s Berlaymont building during an ‘Open Day’ for the public to visit the EU Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 5 May 2018. [EPA-EFE/JULIEN WARNAND] | Source: EurActiv.
With an estimated 7,000 migrants entering Yemen each month, most of them seeking to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, the United Nations migration agency on 8 May 2018 called for greater efforts to protect them from smugglers and other criminals.
Olivia Headon/IOM | A group of Ethiopians arrival in Obock, Djibouti. From there, many take boats across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen.
The United Nations Security-Council on 8 May 2018 called on all countries as well as international organizations to do more to stop terrorists enriching themselves through cross-border organized crime.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe | Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security.
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In a statement read out by Joanna Wronecka – the Permanent Representative of Poland, which holds the Presidency this month – the Council urged UN Member States “to secure their borders against, investigate and prosecute terrorists and criminals working with them, including by strengthening national, regional and global systems to collect, analyse and exchange information.”
With elections looming, tensions across Bosnia and Herzegovina are rising alongside inflammatory rhetoric against the country’s long-standing peace agreement, a senior figure monitoring its implementation has warned.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe | Valentin Inzko, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, briefs the Security Council on 8 May 2018.
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Valentin Inzko, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the Security Council on 8 May 2018 that the situation was being heightened by a “general trend” towards stockpiling weapons across the Balkan state.
Renewed efforts are underway in Bangladesh to protect nearly one million Myanmar refugees from cholera, amid a warning from the UN health agency on 8 May 2018 that “we’re not out of the woods yet”.
UNICEF/Bashir Ahmed Sujan | A Rohingya refugee child is administered an oral polio vaccine at an immunization centre in Bormapara makeshift settlement, Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh, Thursday 21 December 2017.
Dr. Richard Brennan, Director of Emergency Operations at the World Health Organization, (WHO), issued the warning in Geneva, citing risks from other diseases, natural hazards and a serious funding shortage.
**Photo:Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. | Author: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Following a decision on 8 May 2018 by the United States to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, the United Nations chief said he was “deeply concerned” by the move, and called on all parties to preserve the deal.
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IAEA/Paolo Contri | The Busher nuclear power plant in Iran.
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President Donald Trump made the announcement at the White House, and immediately afterwards signed a memorandum to begin reinstating economic sanctions on Iran at “the highest level”.
Cox’s Bazar, 8 May 2018 (IOM)*– Humanitarian agencies working in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps today 8 May 2018marked the completion of the first new plot of land prepared to relocate families most at risk of landslides during the upcoming monsoon season.
Over 3,500 labourers, backed with heavy machinery, are working to prepare safe land in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps. Photo: UNHCR/Roger Arnold
8 May 2018 – TRANSCEND Media Service — The Arab Summit held in Saudi Arabia in the 15th of April passed this year without attracting media attention. Strong decisions about Palestine and Iran, and a deep split regarding Syria. These are in general the summit resolutions.
Walid Salem
Jerusalem wise the summit was called by King Salman as “Al Quds Summit”, with 150 million dollars allocated by Saudi Arabia to the Islamic Endowment in the city, and other 50 million allocated to the UNRWA.
As happened with the previous summits financial support decisions, one has to wait and see if these will find their way to implementation this time.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the summit after its end, calling for a mechanism to implement the summit decisions. We will wait and see.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 