(FAO)* — The commune of Bonbon lies at the most western tip of the island of Haiti. It shares its name with the traditional Haitian sweet, ‘bonbon’, a cake made with dark sugarcane syrup and sweet spices. And thanks to 44-year-old Hilarion Célestin and a group of local beekeepers, the area is now well-known for another kind of sweet too: honey.
The King’s apology came amidst a global anti-racism demonstration.
DRC’s independence is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. | Photo: AFP
(teleSUR)* — The King of Belgium Philip Leopold sent a letter to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo on Tuesday [30 June 2020] to apologize for the violent events which occurred while it colonized the region.
For over a century, Belgium turned the Congo into a slave state governed by Leopold II.
The world has literally ‘lost it’ over the horrible word capitalism.
Naresh Jotwani
This may seem like an overstatement, but it can be justified easily. All it needs is some clear thinking based on a few words which – unlike capitalism – are rooted in reality.
First of all, any ‘-ism’ cannot be trusted blindly because – over time – it becomes a hindrance to individual growth. Anyone promoting or even naively adopting an ‘-ism’ is likely living or hiding ‘in a box’, which state blocks his or her individual progress.
Simple question: In a society where the basic vocabulary stunts individual progress, can we EVER expect overall well-being? Can one get nectar out of bird feathers?
It is only when we discard ALL ‘-isms’ – including the ever-so-venerable Buddhism! – that we are forced to go back to basics, to reality, and in particular to the reality of suffering. Nothing else is then left to build a world view that makes sense. A new day dawns!
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 1 2020 (IPS)* – The ongoing battle between China and the United States is threatening to paralyze the most powerful body at the United Nations – the 15-member Security Council (UNSC)—which has virtually gone MIA (missing in action) on some of the key politically-sensitive issues of the day.
UN Security Council in session. Credit: United Nations
Learn more about food loss and waste reduction, measurement and policy in times of COVID-19 and beyond.
(FAO)* — Food loss and waste reduction should be seen as a means toward achieving other objectives, including improving food security and nutrition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering pressure on water and land resources and can increase productivity and economic growth.
The formulation of effective policies toward food loss and waste reduction requires comprehensive information as to how much and where – both geographically and along the supply chain – various foods are lost or wasted.
FAO’s work on measurement and support to countries to take action to reduce food loss and waste is critical to tracking progress made by countries.
The International Labour Organization’s latest analysis of the labour market impact of COVID-19 finds its impact on the world of work was more severe than previously estimated, and offers three scenarios for the second half of 2020.
GENEVA 30 June 2020 (ILO)* – The number of working hours lost across the world in the first half of 2020 was significantly worse than previously estimated, while the highly uncertain recovery in the second half of the year will not be enough to go back to pre-pandemic levels, even in the best scenario, and risks seeing continuing large scale job losses, warns the International Labour Organization (ILO).
(UN News)* — Urgent, and accelerated action is needed to end female genital mutilation, child marriage, and other “harmful practices” and abuses carried out against women and girls, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA), said on 30 June 2020, in its latest major report on the state of the world’s population.
UNFPA-UNICEF/Kiran Panday | In 2016, UNFPA and UNICEF launched a global programme to tackle child marriage in twelve of the most high-prevalence countries, including Nepal
Every year, millions of girls are subjected to practices that routinely harm them, both physically and emotionally, with the full knowledge and consent of their families, friends and communities, the report states.
Winston Churchill told the Peel Commission in 1937:
“I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly-wise race… has come in and taken their place”.
27 June 2020 (Wall Street International)* — When making an online purchase, any reputable website will require a secure HTTPS connection before requesting payment information and completing the transaction. This is the method used by browsers and websites to securely exchange sensitive data. Its underlying encryption uses digital certificates and strong encryption to create a secure tunnel between a web browser and a web server.
28 June 2020 (Greenpeace International)*— Last month, Russia suffered one of the worst environmental disasters in its history when an oil spill at the Nornickel plant spewed thousands of tonnes of oil into land and water in Taimyr, Siberia, turning the Ambarnaya River red. It is possibly second in scale only to the 1994 Komi pipeline spill, which was by some estimates over eight times bigger in volume than the Exxon Valdez in Alaska in 1989.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 