Global Life Expectancy

Global Life Expectancy

Global Debt - Global GDP

Ban says Climate Change his No. 1 Priority

SAN FRANCISCO July 27, 2007: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the United States to take the lead in combating global warming during a visit to California to learn about the state's campaign to curb its greenhouse gas emissions. "The whole planet Earth is at a crucial juncture," Ban said Thursday at an event organized by the World Affairs Council of Northern California. "Time is of essence. The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of action."

Ban, who served as South Korea's foreign minister before he became U.N. chief in January, arrived in San Francisco on Thursday for a two-day visit of the Bay Area. At the World Affairs Council event, he said he has made climate change a top priority of his tenure as secretary-general and has invited world leaders, including President Bush, to attend a high-level U.N. conference to discuss the issue in September. The U.N. "should be at the forefront of generating strong political will" needed to confront global warming, but the United States _ a major emitter of greenhouse gasses and a leader in technological innovation _ is in the best position to bring change, he said. "If you take leadership, I think we can save this planet earth from plunging into a very difficult situation," Ban told an audience of 1,300. California has become a world leader in confronting climate change with its efforts to promote renewable energy, boost energy efficiency and develop cleaner technologies.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that made California the first state to impose a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Ban was scheduled to meet with Schwarzenegger on Friday and tour a Silicon Valley company that develops technology to help businesses conserve energy.
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SUDAN: New Report Calls for Regime Change in Favour of Peace

NAIROBI, July 27, 2008: -Sudan risks a new and worse civil war unless the international community presses for a fundamental shift in the way the country is governed, a new independent report says. The latest report from the International Crisis Group examines how the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended Africa's longest-running civil war in 2005 is being extensively undermined, primarily by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

While international attention has focused on Darfur, Sudan's other brewing conflicts and the crucial implementation of the CPA are being largely ignored. Crisis Group says a more balanced approach is urgently needed, also in the interest of peace in Darfur. "The CPA holds the seeds for transforming the oppressive governmental system that is at the root of all Sudan's conflicts into a more open, transparent, inclusive and democratic one", says David Mozersky, Crisis Group's Horn of Africa Project Director.

"If the CPA fails - which is increasingly likely - Sudan can be expected to return to full-scale war, with devastating consequences for the entire region". The CPA contains the detailed provisions and schedule for governmental reforms and a democratisation process leading to national elections in 2009 which can be the building blocks for peacemaking in Darfur and elsewhere. However, it is in danger of collapse due primarily to NCP sabotage and international neglect. The NCP views democratic transformation as a threat to regime survival and so undermine the CPA's critical reforms. International efforts over the last several years have lacked leadership, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which fought the government for a generation until it signed the CPA, has focused on internal southern issues at the expense of the national agenda.

Consistent international engagement and vigilance is needed to ensure the CPA is implemented. The UN Secretary-General must immediately appoint a chief for the peacekeeping mission (UNMIS), which has been leaderless for more than half a year, so it can refocus on its primary mandate of monitoring the CPA. The international community should lay out a roadmap for peace which includes the African Union/United Nations plan for reviving the Darfur political process, benchmarks for CPA implementation, and consensus on diplomatic and economic rewards for those who cooperate, and punitive measures for spoilers.
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US Accuses Mugabe of Shutting Out Criticism

27 July 2007: The United States has accused Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe of blatantly trying to shut out criticism ahead of elections next year. The comments come after riot police in Harare beat more than 200 Zimbabweans who were peacefully demonstrating for a new constitution on Wednesday. The US State Department said President Mugabe should respect the right of Zimbabweans to participate in the democratic process and to guarantee the safety of citizens.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the latest action continues to call into question Zimbabwe's commitment to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediation effort to establish conditions for free and fair elections. The SADC has mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to broker a dialogue between President Mugabe's government and the opposition. The opposition has charged that the last presidential polls in 2002 were rigged to hand victory to the 83-year-old Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980.
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Irish 2006 Census – Ethnic or Cultural Background

PRESS RELEASE
Dublin Central Statistics Office July 26th. 2007:

Six out of ten of the Irish Asian community are living in Dublin. A new question asked in the 2006 census revealed that of the 52,345 persons with Asian or Asian Irish ethnicity living in the State, 30,624 (or 58.5%) lived in Dublin in April 2006.

Dublin also had the largest number of persons with Black or Black Irish ethnicity (21,132 persons) representing 47.7% of the relevant group at State level.

This information is contained in Census 2006 Volume 5 – Ethnic or Cultural Background (including the Irish Traveller Community), which gives further detailed results of the census conducted on 23 April 2006. This report contains results relating to the ethnic or cultural background of persons usually resident in the State, including the Irish Traveller Community, and covers the main demographic and socio-economic topics distinguished in the census

Louth has highest proportion of persons with Black or Black Irish ethnicity with 2.2 per cent of its usually resident population in this category compared with a national average figure of 1.1 per cent. More than one in four persons with Black or Black Irish ethnicity born in Ireland 28 per cent of persons with Black or Black Irish ethnicity living in the State at the time of the 2006 census were born in this country. The resultant age profile is therefore quite young with 34.9 per cent of persons with Black or Black Irish ethnicity aged less than 10 years compared with a national average figure of 14.1 per cent. Various ethnic populations mainly Catholic. One in three persons with Black or Black Irish ethnicity was Catholic according to the results of the 2006 census with a further one in six Muslim.

The predominant religion among the Asian or Asian Irish community was also Catholic (26%) followed by Muslim (22%).

Younger age profile among Traveller Community. Two out of every five Travellers were aged less than 15 years in 2006 compared with one in five for the population as a whole. Older Travellers (i.e. those aged 65 years and over) accounted for just 2.6 per cent of the total Traveller population compared with 11 per cent for the general population. The distinctive age structure of the Traveller Community resulted in a median age of 18 compared with a national figure of 33.

Tuam has highest proportion of Travellers. Of the towns with a population of 5,000 or more persons in April 2006, Tuam (7.7%) had the highest proportion of Irish Travellers. This was followed by Longford (4.6%), Birr (4.0%) and Ballinasloe (3.0%). Overall, the Irish Traveller population (22,435) represented 0.5 per cent of the Irish population at the time of the 2006 census. Most Travellers live in permanent accommodation. 15,195 of the 22,002 Travellers residing in private households in 2006 lived in permanent accommodation. A further 5,489 lived in temporary accommodation while 1,318 did not indicate the type of accommodation they occupied. Four out of ten Travellers who responded to the question therefore lived in temporary accommodation.

The publication Census 2006 - Principal Demographic Results, released on 29 March 2007, contains a summary at State level of data from Volumes 1 - 6, 9 and 13 of the detailed census reports. The publication released today, Volume 5, gives corresponding figures at a more detailed geographical level. All published tables from Census 2006 are being made available on the CSO website (www.cso.ie). Tables at Electoral Division, Local Electoral Area and small town level are being made available exclusively on the CSO web site.
For copies of the publication contact:
Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork 021 453 5011
or
Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
Price: €15.00
Copies can also be downloaded from the CSO website (see address below).
For further information contact:
Central Statistics Office, Swords Business Campus,
Balheary Road, Swords, Co. Dublin.
Census Enquiries: (01) 895 1460/61/63/66
Fax: (01) 895 1399
E-mail: census@cso.ie
Internet: www.cso.ie
Central Statistics Office 26 July 2007
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Indian Leader Vows to Empower Women

NEW DELHI July 26, 2007: -- India's first female president was sworn in yesterday, vowing to eliminate the practice of aborting female fetuses and to empower women, who are often treated as second-class citizens. A white-clad, mounted honor guard escorted Pratibha Patil's limousine to Parliament, where she took the oath of office. The ceremony was followed by a 21-gun salute announcing the inauguration of India's 13th president.

Despite being touted as an important step for gender equality, Patil's election to the largely ceremonial post has elicited only a lukewarm response from many women who say it has given them little more than a symbol, not a leader who represents them. The 72-year-old Patil had been largely silent on her goals, particularly after drawing criticism for calling on Indian women, Muslims and Hindus alike, to abandon wearing head scarves. Although head scarves are more often seen in rural areas, some women in cities also wear them. Patil wore one, as she often does, for her inaugural address to Parliament. "Empowerment of women is particularly important to me as I believe this leads to the empowerment of the nation," Patil told lawmakers, calling for universal education in India. She promised to fight for the vast mass of underprivileged in this country of about 1.1 billion people as it strives to transform itself into a modern, economic giant. "We must banish malnutrition, social evils, infant mortality, and female feticide," Patil said.

Last year, an international team of researchers estimated up to 10 million female fetuses had been aborted in the past 10 in years in India. The result is a gender ratio increasingly skewed in favor of men -- the 2001 census found 927 women for every 1,000 men, down from 945 women per 1,000 men in 1991. Daughters are often seen as a burden because tradition requires that a bride's family pay the groom's family a large dowry of cash and gifts. Women's education is often neglected, and many do not get adequate medical treatment. While the presidency is a largely ceremonial post, Patil can lend the prestige of her office to causes she supports. But many women were skeptical about Patil. "She was chosen for her loyalty and has moved from one post to another because of that same loyalty," said Madhu Kishwar, editor of Manushi, a feminist and human rights magazine. "Sycophancy is the only token that works," Kishwar said, referring to Patil's known devotion to India's powerful Nehru-Gandhi family.
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Pakistan - Over a Million Children at Risk of Disease

ISLAMABAD, 25 July 2007: Many water distribution systems have been totally or partially destroyed by the floods, leading to poor hygiene and unsanitary conditions that are causing waterborne diseases, dehydration and infection. Children are particularly vulnerable. Over a million children are at risk of infectious diseases in Pakistan’s flood-affected provinces of Balochistan and Sindh after last month’s devastating cyclone Yemyin, which left nearly 300 dead and close to 400,000 homeless. Of the 2.5 million people affected by the floods, three-quarters were women and children, with upwards of 500,000 children under five being particularly vulnerable, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is now warning. “Diarrhoeal diseases are our biggest concern,” Bill Fellows, UNICEF’s senior water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) adviser for South Asia, told IRIN in Islamabad. He said typhoid, salmonella and acute watery diarrhoea were particular areas of concern.

Skin diseases due to poor hygiene such as general rashes, scabies, as well myriad eye diseases, including conjunctivitis, were also on the rise. “In terms of sheer numbers, the skin diseases dwarf everything else, but they are infrequently fatal,” Fellows said. “It’s very hard to scratch yourself to death.” Drinking water “most pressing issue” His comments come as the humanitarian community expands its activities in the flood-affected areas, less than a week after the UN issued a flash appeal of US$38 million to bolster the efforts of the Pakistani government to address the key humanitarian needs of the affected population over the next three months, with priority on shelter, water and sanitation, health and early recovery activities. “The most pressing issue that people feel is the lack of safe drinking water,” Fellows said, adding that between 200,000 and 500,000 inhabitants in the vast, but sparsely populated, area do not have access to safe drinking water at the moment.

“There is no shortage of water at the moment, but they don’t have access to clean water,” the WASH expert reiterated, adding that the short-term goal was to provide chlorine or disinfectants to purify the water they did have access to, or alternatively to tanker in safe drinking water to them, while simultaneously working on the restoration of water supply networks damaged by the disaster.

In Balochistan, the local authorities say that with UNICEF’s support they have succeeded in assessing the damage. Of the 288 damaged water schemes in the province, 50 have already been repaired, with another 50 now under way, they say. Meanwhile, in Sindh province, assessments to the actual damage to the water schemes were still continuing. “The flood is still working its way through Sindh,” Fellows said, adding that several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), supported by UNICEF, were getting clean water to those in need by tanker. And while the water supply part was almost the simplest part of the emergency, the issue of sanitation and hygiene was proving more complex. “First of all, there is the lack of soap,“ he said. “And that has to be replaced.” “Virtually all diarrhoeal diseases are faecal-oral so it’s really a question of breaking the faecal-oral cycle,” the UNICEF specialist said, through safe drinking water, hand washing, and sanitation and excrement disposal.

At present, the water and sanitation conditions in the affected area remain poor, he said. But quick, temporary pit latrines were being built – something particularly important for women in this largely conservative area. “A particular concern for us is to ensure that women have some sort of latrine that is a safe environment they can use,” he said, citing protection issues. As part of last week’s flash appeal on 18 July in Geneva, UNICEF has requested $6.3 million, of which approximately half is for WASH. On 24 July the Australian government said it would contribute $1 million to UNICEF for immediate water and sanitation needs, and the Belgian government announced a contribution of nearly $600,000 for UNICEF’s WASH activities in the flood-affected area.
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Ireland - Man Jailed for Human Trafficking

Dublin 26 July 2007: A man who was convicted of trafficking illegal immigrants into Ireland in October 2004 has been jailed for four years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Olaitan Ilori, originally from Nigeria but with an address on Oak Drive in Blessington Co Wicklow, was convicted by a jury earlier this month. The father of four was found guilty of organising the entry into the State of 12 adult Mauritian nationals, whom he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were illegal immigrants. He had denied the charges.
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2008 Elections

25 July 2007: The second issue of Zimbabwe Election Watch highlights further examples of breaches of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections by the Mugabe regime. The South African-led SADC initiative to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis is reported to be in danger of collapse as President Mugabe has insisted that his ruling Zanu PF party will not discuss a new constitution with the opposition. Zanu PF representative Patrick Chinamasa said the politburo cabinet has decided instead to press ahead with plans to amend the constitution through Parliament.

In an extract from the latest Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum report, the group recorded an escalation in the number of cases of abuse by state agents: 373 in May compared to 318 the previous month. They include torture and the curtailing of freedom of expression. The government’s ongoing crackdown on activists from the National Constitutional Assembly and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is of grave concern. A survey released on 25 July by Amnesty International (AI) reports that the political manipulation of food distribution persists, particularly of GMB (Grain Marketing Board) maize sold in rural areas. The organisation notes that in 2004, “food aid was often withheld from those who did not hold a Zanu PF loyalty card, and was used in attempts to influence election results.” The UN World Food Programme estimates that 4.1 million people will require food aid during the first three months of 2008.

Although there is no legislation barring foreign-published newspapers from being sold in Zimbabwe, plans for the government’s all-out propaganda campaign ahead of the 2008 elections will include blocking distribution of The Zimbabwean newspaper.

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Mbeki-led SADC talks hang by a thread

July 20th. 2007: Citing a top Zanu PF and government offical, ZimOnline reported that the South African-led SADC initiative to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis looked in danger of collapsing as President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party insisted it would not discuss a new constitution with the opposition. South African President Thabo Mbeki - who will report back to SADC leaders in August - has previously said progress was being made in the search for a negotiated solution, while reports in Zimbabwean and regional media suggested Zanu PF and the MDC had agreed on a formal agenda of talks, with the issue of a new constitution topping the list.

However, sources on Thursday said Zanu PF representatives, Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, earlier this week met the South African team of mediators led by Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi to tell them they had instructions from their party not to discuss a new constitution. Rev Frank Chikane, director-general in Mbeki's office, also attended the meeting at which Chinamasa said Zanu PF's powerful politburo cabinet had decided the ruling party should press ahead with plans to amend Zimbabwe's constitution through Parliament. "He (Chinamasa) told them that the MDC rejected constitutional reforms in 2000 and that the politburo had now resolved to push the 18th Amendment to the constitution to allow for joint presidential and parliamentary elections next year," said a top Zanu PF and government official.

Constitutional Amendment No. 18, which the government has tabled in Parliament, will in addition to harmonising elections, empower the House - in which Mugabe enjoys sweeping support - to elect a successor in the event that he dies or plans to step down. The MDC says the amendment is a ploy by Mugabe - who will extend his rule to 33 years if he is re-elected next year and finishes the five-year presidential term - to hang on to power for life.
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Drought, Disease, Poverty Hitting Southern Africa

UNITED NATIONS July 25, 2007: - Drought, AIDS and chronic poverty in the landlocked southern African states of Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe are putting hundreds of thousands at risk of hunger, a U.N. official said on Tuesday. "You have got very severe drought in three countries, some of the worst harvests on record in Swaziland and an incredibly high levels of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho," John Holmes, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, told reporters. "This is occurring on the basis of very vulnerable populations to start with," he said.

Carol Bellamy, the former director of UNICEF, the U.N. children's fund, in 2002 used the phrase "perfect storm" in relation to several southern Africa countries -- drought, environmental degradation, near starvation and AIDS sapping the strength of the working population. Asked if the situation was approaching a "perfect storm" now, Holmes said, "You could say that," because there there was a triple threat in all three countries, who have suffered from poverty for years.

In Swaziland, with only 1 million people, a third of all people between 15 and 49 are afflicted with HIV/AIDS. The harvest is the worst ever, prompting the government in June to declare a national disaster. Holmes said that more than 400,000 people in Swaziland will require humanitarian assistance, and requested $15.6 million in emergency assistance. Lesotho earlier this month declared a food emergency and an appeal will be issued shortly, Holmes said. The tiny country has experienced the most severe drought in the last 30 years, which slashed the corn harvest by more than 40 percent. More than 400,000 people, or a fifth of the population, need emergency food aid.

In Zimbabwe, where diplomats blame some of the disaster on the policies of its leader, Robert Mugabe, about half of the financial appeals have been fulfilled. An earlier appeal for $253 million has drawn a response of $123 million with nearly $100 million donated by the United States, Holmes said.
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Ireland - One in Five give to Overseas Aid

Research - Irish aid organisations are supported by 850,000 people.

Dublin July 25th: Today, Dóchas presented the findings of an extensive survey of the reach and strength of Irish aid organisations. The research, presented to Minister of State Michael Kitt, shows that the 37 member organisations of Dóchas continue to receive enormous public support, with one in five people in the country making regular donations. "The main finding of our research is that our member organisations benefit from the generous and sustained support of the general public. Last year 850,000 people contributed money to the work of Irish aid organisations and hundreds of people volunteered their time for fundraisers, campaigns and information events. That is truly phenomenal" said Hans Zomer Director of Dóchas, the umbrella group that sponsored the research.

The research found that the members of Dóchas had a combined turn-over of over €280 million, the bulk of which came from donations of the Irish public. The government and the EU supported the work of the aid agencies to the tune of €91 million (or 30% of total income). Over half of the activities by the Irish aid agencies takes place in Africa (particularly East and Southern Africa), but there is also a strong focus on the populous countries of South and South-East Asia. Furthermore, nearly all Dóchas members engage in information and campaigns work in Ireland.

"Overall, the picture that emerges is one of strength: Irish aid organisations work hard and are making serious inroads in the fight against disease, poverty and hunger. And what’s more, the Irish public has faith in their professionalism and dedication” said Hans Zomer.

The research was undertaken by Dóchas as a “health check” on the Irish Development NGO sector. By publishing the survey results, Dóchas wants to make available information about its members – many of whom are household names – in one central place.

“What we have found is that our member organisations are well aware of what their strengths and weaknesses are. And that they have realised that they can address any weaknesses they may have by working together, through networks such as Dóchas. Over the past while, our members have been working together to develop codes of practice on communications, governance and AIDS” said Zomer.

The full report is available from the Dóchas secretariat in Dublin (tel 01-4053801), and on the Dóchas website: http://www.dochas.ie/documents/Dochas_Members_Survey2006.pdf.

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Medical "brain drain" Hindering Aids Battle

SYDNEY Jul 23, 2007: The biggest challenge in the global fight against AIDS is no longer money for drug research and treatment but the lack of local health services in nations worst-hit by the disease, the World Bank said on Monday. While some two million people were now receiving treatment for HIV-AIDS, the lack of health services in many African and Asian nations was adversely affecting treatment programs, said Debrework Zewdie, head of the bank's global HIV-AIDS program. An absence of proper pharmaceutical storage had seen HIV-AIDS drugs expire before they could be administered and a "brain drain" of doctors and medical researchers meant there was a shortage of people capable of properly implementing treatment, Zewdie told the International Aids Society conference in Sydney.

"Our most difficult challenge is not funding, but the limited health system capacity in countries with the highest disease burden," Zewdie told reporters at the world's largest HIV-AIDS conference, attended by 5,000 delegates from 133 countries. "There is a desperate shortage of doctors, health care workers and researchers, who would not only deliver treatment services but also coordinate local operations." The World Bank said Ethiopia had less than 2,000 doctors or about one doctor for every 100,000 people. Papua New Guinea, which faced one of the fastest growing HIV-AIDS epidemics, had only 284 doctors -- but half worked overseas. "We want to reverse the lack of research culture. We want to reverse the brain drain and bring our doctors home," said Zewdie.

The United Nations says close to 40 million people are infected with the AIDS virus and that treatment had dramatically expanded from 240,000 people in 2001 to 1.3 million by 2005. In June, world powers at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany set a target of providing AIDS drugs over the next few years to approximately 5 million people. A report by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) at the conference said that while there had been dramatic price reductions in some HIV-AIDS drugs, the newer, less toxic drugs recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) had become more expensive. "The lack of competition and dramatically higher prices for the newly-recommended WHO first line (drugs) could mean that people in developing countries may not be able to benefit from improved treatment...," said Karen Day from MSF.

The MSF report said some new drugs had risen in price by nearly 500 percent from $99 to up to $487. It said "compulsory licenses" were more effective in bringing prices down than negotiating price reductions with drug companies. In January 2007, Thailand issued a compulsory license to overcome the patent barrier on a HIV drug, allowing the country to legally import the drug or produce it locally. "Just one year ago, treating a patient with a second-line regimen ... in Thailand cost $2,800 per year," said Kannikar Kijtiwatchakul, a MSF campaigner. "Treating that same patient with a second-line regimen will now cost $695, four times less. But this is still far too expensive for the majority of people in Thailand, where the average annual salary is $1,600."

Australia said on Monday it would increase funding for HIV programs by A$400 million ($350 million), bringing its total commitment to A$1 billion by 2010. The Australian funding will focus on the Asia-Pacific region where some eight million people live with HIV-AIDS, said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. "We cannot ignore the social and economic consequences of HIV in our region. It is predicted that without increased and ongoing action, HIV will have killed 1.5 million people in Indonesia and 300,000 people in Papua New Guinea by 2025," said Downer.
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Bulgarian Medics Home at Last

SOFIA July 24, 2007: Six foreign medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV arrived in Sofia on Tuesday after being freed by Libya under a deal with the European Union. Their release after eight years in captivity ends what Libya's critics called a human rights scandal and lifts a barrier to attempts by the long-isolated north African state to complete a process of normalizing ties with the outside world.

"I don't know what to say, I've been living for this moment," 54-year-old nurse Snezhana Dimitrova said as the nurses and their families cried and hugged each other at the airport. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov pardoned the six medics soon after their arrival on a French jet. The medics said they were innocent and had been tortured to confess.

A Libyan close to the negotiations said the five Bulgarians and a Palestinian who recently took Bulgarian citizenship were released under an agreement with the EU on medical aid and political ties. "There was agreement on equipping the hospital in Benghazi and treatment for the children ... All the political matters have been met," the Libyan contacted by telephone from Algiers said. The medics were accompanied by EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and France's First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy, who had been in Tripoli to help their release. "This decision will open the way for a new and enhanced relationship between the EU and Libya and reinforce our ties with the Mediterranean region and the whole of Africa," Ms. Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement on arrival in Sofia.

The Libyan close to the negotiations said European countries had agreed to provide medical assistance for the children and to help upgrade a hospital in Benghazi, Libya's second city and the town where the infections first appeared in the 1990s. The EU had also agreed to improve its ties with Libya and build what the Libyan called a partnership that would include free trade. Bulgaria is a new EU member. "The president of the French republic and the president of the European Commission salute the humanitarian gesture of Libya and of its highest leader (Muammar Gaddafi) and commit themselves to do everything to help the children infected with AIDS," the commission said in a statement. Statements by the French presidency and the commission also thanked Qatar for its mediation.

Claude Gueant, chief of staff of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said he had been unsure about whether the medics would actually be released until the last minute. "Right up to the arrival of the nurses at the airport at Tripoli this morning, around 6 a.m., we had doubts. Right up until the end we had doubts," Mr. Gueant, who accompanied Cecilia Sarkozy, told France's LCI television from Sofia airport. Following diplomatic talks and payment of hundreds of millions of dollars to the families of 460 HIV victims, Libya last week commuted the death sentences against the six to life imprisonment. That paved the way for the medics to return home under a 1984 prisoner exchange agreement. Tuesday's transfer of the medics became possible after European Union and French officials achieved a breakthrough in talks with Libya overnight, Bulgarian officials said. "My memories from Libya are not only bad. Ordinary Libyans are good people," said nurse Christiana Valcheva, 48, on arrival in Sofia.

Bulgaria and its allies in Brussels and Washington had suggested that not freeing the nurses would hurt Libya's efforts to emerge from decades of diplomatic isolation imposed for what the West called its support of terrorism. Libya emerged from decades of isolation in 2003 when it scrapped a program of prohibited weapons and returned to international mainstream politics. The country has begun opening its big energy reserves to foreign oil firms and the United States said this month it was sending its first ambassador to Tripoli in 35 years.
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U.N. Raises Alarm over Fighting in Eastern Congo

UNITED NATIONS July 23, 2007: - The U.N. Security Council voiced deep concern on Monday over continued violence in eastern Congo following a plea from the U.N. peacekeeping chief to help stop an increasingly dangerous situation. At least 165,000 people have been uprooted in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January when the government and a renegade general, Laurent Nkunda, agreed to combine their troops but without success. An estimated 10,000 Rwandan Hutu fighters are present in the area and Nkunda's forces have close ties to Rwanda's Tutsi government.

The council's statement, read at a public meeting by China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, called on foreign armed groups to stop fighting and for newly integrated or "mixed" brigades to stop recruiting soldiers. The council also expressed concern about the recruitment of child soldiers "especially by forces loyal to Laurent Nkunda." A Reuters report showed some 4,000 children still remain active in army brigades, local militias and foreign rebel groups mainly in the east -- but also among government troops. Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of U.N. peacekeeping told reporters it was important to keep up international pressure. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had been in touch with Congolese leaders and the European Union and Belgium, the former colonial power, had made high-level representations. "There is a concentration of armed forces from both sides -- from the side of the government and from General Nkunda," Guehenno said. "What is true is that Mr Nkunda's (forces), I think, are the single most serious threat to the stabilization of the Congo at this stage." The Security Council demanded that rebel forces in the eastern region "lay down their arms and engage voluntarily and without preconditions in their demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and re-integration."

Congo is the largest U.N. peacekeeping mission with more than 17,000 troops in the vast central African country. Despite successful polls last year that chose Joseph Kabila as Congo's first democratically elected president in over 40 years, fears are growing of a return to war in North Kivu in the eastern region.
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African Churches Reject New Trade Pacts with Europe

NAIROBI, July 24, 2007: New trade agreements being negotiated between Europe and developing countries are harmful to Africa, All Africa Conference of Churches said. In a letter urging African trade ministers not to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements by Dec. 31, AACC General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Mvume Dandala, said developing countries risked losing much-needed revenues if the new trade agreements came into force in January as planned.

Africa’s trade ministers met last week in Accra, Ghana, to discuss the EPAs which have been rejected by fair trade activists from around the world. Revenue losses due to the new trade rules, Dr Dandala said, would lead to cuts in the already reduced spending on crucial social welfare needs like education, health, food security, water and sanitation. This will challenge the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and governments’ development plans.

From independence until 2002, trade between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and Europe were ruled by the Yaounde and Lome Conventions. The trade regime was “asymmetric” (without obligation of reciprocal advantages), thus favouring ACP exports to the EU and allowing the ACP to get an income from the custom duties of goods imported from Europe. ACP countries benefited from unilateral duty-free access to the EU market for most of their exports, while not obliged to open their market to European goods that had to pay custom duties. But some Latin-American countries, backed by USA, considered this “special treatment” of goods incompatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, as they felt “discriminated” against by the EU regarding bananas and sugar.

In 2002 when the last Lome Convention ended, the EU asked the WTO for a waiver valid till Dec. 31, 2007. In the new Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the ACP states, the signatories agreed to establish Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that would pursue trade liberalization and create free trade by the end 2007. Dr Dandala said that by neglecting the WTO principle of special and differential treatment for less developed countries, the EU was shifting away from its previous thinking on development and trade. “The EU prefers this bilateral route for trade negotiations because it will gain further concessions through the ‘divide and rule’ negotiating tactic,” Dr Dandala said. “The pact seeks investment liberalization, guaranteed protection for European corporate property and increased intellectual property rights,” he said. “It will also open up ACP service sectors and government procurement (public tenders) to the operations of European companies, and the imposition of inappropriate 'competition' rules.”

Dr Dandala said the church, faith-based organizations and the civil society are opposed to the new pact. Catholic and other church organisations in Europe and Africa have already rejected the EPAs.
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England: Scientists Confirm Link to Increased Rain

London 23 July 2007: It's official: the heavier rainfall in Britain is being caused by climate change, a major new scientific study will reveal this week, as the country reels from summer downpours of unprecedented ferocity. More intense rainstorms across parts of the northern hemisphere are being generated by man-made global warming, the study has established for the first time ­ an effect which has long been predicted but never before proved.

The study's findings will be all the more dramatic for being disclosed as Britain struggles to recover from the phenomenal drenching of the past few days, during which more than a month's worth of rain fell in a few hours in some places, and floods forced thousands from their homes. The "major rainfall event" of last Friday fully predicted as such by the Met Office­ has given the country a quite exceptional battering, with the Thames still rising. In Gloucester water levels had reached 34 feet, just 12 inches below flood defences the same level as during the flood of 1947 ­ although a police spokesman said last night that the River Severn had stopped rising. Last night vast areas of the country around Gloucestershire and Worcestershire were still inundated, large numbers of people in temporary accommodation, transport links were widely disrupted, and yet more householders were standing by to be flooded in their turn, in one of the biggest civil emergencies Britain has seen.

About 150,000 residents in Gloucestershire were left without drinking water when the Mythe Water Treatment Works in Tewkesbury became inoperable after flooding. Another 200,000 people are at risk of losing their supplies. The water shortages may last until Wednesday and 600 water tanks were being drafted to the area. Panic buying of bottled water was reported, with supermarkets selling out of stocks, and there were contamination problems in south London, where 80,000 households and businesses in the Sutton area were advised to boil their water after rain got into a tank. Yet another potential danger was from car thieves; West Mercia police warned drivers who had abandoned their cars in the floodwater to collect them quickly to prevent theft.

The Great Flood of July is all the more remarkable for following right on from the Great Flood of June, which caused similar havoc in northern towns such as Doncaster and Hull, after a similar series of astonishingly torrential downpours on 24 June. Meteorologists agree that the miserably wet British summer of 2007 has generally been caused by a southward shift towards Britain of the jetstream, the high-level airflow that brings depressions eastwards across the Atlantic. This is fairly normal. But debate is going on about whether climate change may be responsible for the intensity of the two freak rainfall episodes, which have caused flooding the like of which has never been seen in many places. This is because the computer models used to predict the future course of global warming all show heavier rainfall, and indeed, "extreme rainfall events", as one of its principal consequences. The new study, carried out jointly by several national climate research institutes using their supercomputer climate models, including the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office, does not prove that any one event, including the rain of the past few days in Britain, is climate-change related.

But it certainly supports the idea, by showing that in recent decades rainfall has increased over several areas of the world, including the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, and linking this directly, for the first time, to global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases. The study is being published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, and its details are under embargo and cannot be reported until then. But its main findings have caused a stir, and are being freely discussed by climate scientists in the Met Office, the Hadley Centre and the Department for Environment For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. One source familiar with the study's conclusions said: "What this does is establish for the first time that there is a distinct 'human fingerprint' in the changes in precipitation patterns ­ the increases in rainfall observed in the northern hemisphere mid-latitudes, which includes Britain. "That means, it is not just the climate's natural variability which has caused the increases, but there is a detectable human cause ­ climat change, caused by our greenhouse gas emissions. The 'human fingerprint' has been detected before in temperature rises, but never before in rainfall. So this is very significant. "Some people would argue that you can't take a single event and pin that on climate change, but what happened in Britain last Friday fits quite easily with these conclusions. It does seem to have a certain resonance with what they're finding in this research."

The Hadley Centre lead scientist involved with the study was Dr Peter Stott, who specialises in finding "human fingerprints" ­ sometimes referred to as anthropogenic signals ­ on the changing climate. Last September Dr Stott, who was not available for comment yesterday, published research showing that the climate of central England had warmed by a full degree Celsius in the past 40 years, and that this could be directly linked to human causes ­ the first time that man-made climate change had been identified at such a local level. The human fingerprint is detected by making computer simulations of the recent past climate, with and without emissions of greenhouse gases ­ and then comparing the results with what has actually been observed in the real world. In Dr Stott's research, and in the study to be published on Wednesday, the observed rises in temperature and rainfall could be clearly accounted for by the scenario in which emissions were prominent. The conclusions of the new rainfall study are regarded as all the more robust as they are the joint work of several major national climate research bodies, led by Environment Canada, with each using its own supercomputer climate model. Global warming is likely to lead to higher rainfall because a warming atmosphere contains more water vapour and more energy. Since climate prediction began 20 years ago, heavier rainfall over Britain has been a consistent theme.
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Africa's Children Struggle for Education

NAIROBI, Kenya July 23rd: Some 46 million African children — nearly half the school-age population — have never set foot in a classroom, according to the United Nations. There are signs of hope as more African countries eliminate public school tuition fees, but burdens ranging from extreme poverty to the cost of uniforms are keeping children out of class. The consequences of a poorly educated population are dire, particularly for a continent desperately in need of foreign investment but with a literacy rate of less than 60%.

To pay for food, Pascal started scavenging for scrap metal. Lenjo, he said, "was so hungry he couldn't do anything but sit. Unless I collected the scrap metal, we would go to sleep without eating." Their fortunes changed when a social worker from the Undugu Society of Kenya, an advocacy group for street children, told the brothers about the organization's school where there were no uniforms, shoes were optional and there were no tuition fees. Intrigued, Pascal asked the deciding question: "Will they feed us?" The answer was yes, and now the boys study every day at Undugu's tumbledown school on the edge of a Nairobi slum. The walls are crumbling stone, there's only one light bulb, and three children share a textbook. But it's far better than the street, and lunch is served at noon.

Francis Kaara, the head of education at Undugu, said such alternative schools are vital for educating Africa's children, especially those who are abandoned, have been addicted to drugs, or lost parents to AIDS or other diseases. Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana are among countries that have abolished fees to keep children in school — though for some governments, that has meant new strains on systems already short of capable teachers, classrooms and supplies. And even the smallest expenses for uniforms and books can hamper enrollment numbers, Kaara said. "The governments declared that education is free, but actually it is not free," Kaara said. In Kenya, primary school is free and President Mwai Kibaki has announced he will also waive the thrice-yearly $50 fee for secondary school starting in January. But David Siele of the Ministry of Education said a seemingly endless list of expenses — not just tuition — keeps children from advancing.

Siele said 60,000 students who had been admitted to public secondary schools this year failed to report because they would still be charged for transport, field trips, teacher conferences and building swimming pools for schools. Uganda also offers free primary education, but fewer than half its children complete secondary school because they would have to pay fees of up to $100 per term, according to the Ministry of Education. Uganda's average annual income is $300. The country started a limited program this year offering free secondary school in rural areas. Limited in funds, the government required children to pass an exam level to qualify, and about 234,000 have been accepted.

But teachers charging improper fees have also plagued that program, officials say. The Bugiri District commissioner, Zubairi Bakari, said students were being asked for $1 each to "boost the teachers" — a prohibitive expense for the poorest. "We are disappointed by the behavior of some school administrators," Bakari said in a recent speech. "Sending students away from schools will make them more vulnerable to child-trafficking and other forms of abuse." Despite the problems, tuition waivers remain a huge source of relief for cash-strapped families. Annet Namususwa, 16, who lives in Bugiri, about 85 miles east of the capital, Kampala, said she had no chance of going on to secondary school until it became free. "My aunt suggested that I get married because she had no money to pay for my fees in secondary school," she said.

In Kenya, Pascal says he also feels the hope of a better life now that he goes to school. He still lives in a homeless shelter and still trades in scrap metal, but now, "I can really look after my brother." Because Undugu's schools are informal, with a wide range of ages and education levels, students do not automatically pass from its programs to further state education. But they learn basic reading and arithmetic, and read stories about "AIDS the Destroyer." Undugu finances most of its operations through donations and the sale of curios, jewelry, furniture, stationery and other items made by the children in its vocational programs. Kaara, the education director of Undugu — a name that means solidarity in Swahili — said children like Pascal "need a lot of love" to encourage them to stay in school. "If they report late, you say, 'Please come early next time,"' Kaara said. "Because if you chase the child away, you deny him or her their last good chance to get an education."
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Malaysian Christians Raise New Religious Freedom Concerns

Singapore 23rd July 2007: Malaysian Christians have expressed fresh worries that the government may be infringing their religious freedom, after the country's deputy prime minister described Malaysia as "an Islamic state". The Christian Federation of Malaysia issued a statement on 19 July urging Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to retract comments he made two days earlier when speaking to reporters. Then, the deputy prime minister had said, "Islam is the official religion and Malaysia is an Islamic State, an Islamic State that respects the rights of non-Muslims, and we protect them."

Razak's remarks follow a series of court cases in Malaysia that dealt with religious matters and that heightened fears among Malaysia's religious minorities that the south-east Asian country might be losing its character as a secular state with a Muslim majority, and instead is becoming an Islamic state. "The Christian Federation of Malaysia appeals to the deputy prime minister to retract his aforesaid remarks, and to the government to refrain from the use of the term 'Islamic State' in the description of Malaysia, and instead to vigorously advocate the description of Malaysia as a secular constitutional democracy," said Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, head of the Christian Federation of Malaysia.

The federation said the description of Malaysia as "an Islamic state" contradicted the country's constitution, which, "guarantees the right of all religious communities to co-exist and relate with each other on an equal basis as citizens of a one and united country".

Recently, in a number of high-profile cases, some Malaysians have failed in attempts to get the State to stop recognising them as Muslims. In one case, a woman who was born a Muslim but converted to Christianity failed to be recognised as a Christian, and thus was unable to marry her Christian fiancé. Another woman, born a Muslim but raised a Hindu, was taken away from her Hindu husband and sent for religious re-education after the courts had rejected her request for the state to recognise her as a Hindu. The cases were particularly emotive because under Malaysia's Islamic laws anyone born into a Muslim family cannot legally convert to another faith, and anyone marrying a Muslim must convert to Islam. Non-Muslim religious leaders say these court cases are among a string of disputes that have infringed on religious freedom in Malaysia.

Muslims make up about 60 percent of the country's 26 million population, which also includes Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and other religious groups.
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Korean Churches Urge Halt to Afghanistan Missionary Activity

Tokyo July 23rd: (ENI). The National Council of Churches in Korea has said that all "missionary activity in Afghanistan, where abductions and dangers to life continue, must be stopped," the Japanese online edition of the Korean newspaper JoongAng Daily reports. The Revival Times, a Japanese Pentecostal weekly paper, has on its Web site called for continuous and "urgent prayers" for 23 South Korean hostages held by members of Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban group.
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