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Vasárnap fejeződött be a Brindza Borászat székhelyén a július 17-étől 24-éig tartott, a Belgrádban élő Kollár házaspár és a topolyai Brindza Borászat közös szervezésében tizedik alkalommal megrendezett művésztelep, amelyen az idénn tíz akadémiai festőművész barátkozott és alkotott, mindenelőtt akvarell, olaj és akrill festészeti technikát alkalmazva.

A Környezetvédelmi Őrség áprilisban 50 ezer lejjel bírságolta meg a szolgáltatót, amiért illegálisan rakta le az általa begyűjtött háztartási szemetet a Promenada Mall mögötti területre. Az őrség bűnvádi feljelentést is tett a Salubriserv ellen, és kérte a szolgáltató engedélyének visszavonását. Ennek következtében a Környezetvédelmi Ügynökség június 21. és július 15-e között felfüggesztette a Salubriserv környezetvédelmi engedélyét, a cég azonban időközben újra engedélyt szerzett miután megoldotta a jelzett rendellenességeket. Máté János, a Maros Megyei Környezetvédelmi Őrség vezetője híradónknak elmondta, a Marosvásárhelyről összegyűjtött háztartási hulladék jelenleg engedélyezett lerakókba kerül.

„A most begyűjtött teljes mennyiségű szemetet, ami a város területéről összegyűl, azt most két legális lerakóba viszik, Segesvárra és Székelyudvarhelyre. Ami pozitívum, hogy az illegális lerakónál most egyetlen tevékenység folyik, az illegálisan lerakott szemét elszállítása az említett két lerakóba.”

Máté János a Salubriserv elleni bűnvádi feljelentés kapcsán csak annyit közölt, az ügyben még tart a kivizsgálás. A környezetvédelmi őrség április és június között 186 ellenőrzését végzett Maros megyében és 14 esetben rót ki bírságot különböző kihágások miatt. A két legnagyobb büntetést a Salubriserv vállalat, illetve egy faáru szállításával foglalkozó cég kapta, amely nem rendelkezett megfelelő környezetvédelmi engedéllyel.

BUKAREST. Újabb ásatást indítottak a Kommunizmus Bűneit Vizsgáló és a Román Száműzöttek Emlékét Ápoló Intézet (IICCMER) és az Erdélyi Történeti Múzeum régészei hétfőn a Duna-deltában, hogy felkutassák a kommunizmus idején az egykori peripravai kényszermunka-táborban megölt politikai foglyok földi maradványait.

Le prêtre Jacques Hamel, 86 ans, tué mardi dans son église, à Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, par deux hommes se revendiquant du groupe État islamique (EI), était un homme "très actif" , "toujours présent" pour les autres.

L'ex-ministre des affaires étrangères conseille au Conseil fédéral de ne pas «courir à Bruxelles», mais attendre de voir comment l'UE va réagir après le Brexit.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he hoped to announce in early August details of a plan for closer military cooperation and intelligence sharing with Russia in Syria.

Speaking after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian nations intergovernmental conference in Laos, Kerry said there had been progress in negotiations.

Apparently, bilateral negotiations have yielded a bilateral plan.

Kerry’s proposal envisages Washington and Moscow sharing intelligence and coordinating air strikes against the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front; the plan will also prohibit the Syrian air force from attacking moderate rebel groups.

Kerry is defending the plan amidst deep skepticism among his own ranks. Top American military and intelligence officials, including Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, oppose any cooperation with Russia.

 

The meeting in Laos comes in the aftermath of allegations that Russia is behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) intranet system. A private cybersecurity contractor working for the DNC suggested the hacker is linked to the FSB. Wikileaks released a trove of the e-mails secured via that cyber-security attack on Friday.

Kerry said he raised the issue of the emails with Lavrov during their meeting. Earlier, Lavrov brushed aside the accusations that Russia was involved, saying: “I don’t want to use four-letter words.”

The FBI is still investigating the intrusion at the DNC intra-system.

The post Kerry announces cooperation with Russia in Syria appeared first on New Europe.

Converting gas distribution systems across Europe from methane to hydrogen could cut CO2 emissions from the heating of buildings by more than 70%.  That’s the prospect held out by a new UK case study that might have big implications for EU energy policy.

With the heating and cooling of buildings accounting for half of Europe’s energy consumption there is little prospect of achieving the climate change goals set last year in Paris unless greenhouse gas emissions from this sector are reduced by a very significant margin.  Yet the strategy outlined by the European Commission in its communication six months ago is less than convincing.  Step  changes in thinking and levels of ambition are needed.

The H21 Leeds City Gate project published its findings last month – rather unhelpfully on the same day that the news was dominated by Theresa May becoming British prime minister!  It proposes construction of four conventional steam methane reformers to convert natural gas to hydrogen in the industrial area of Teesside, on the North Sea coast.  From here the gas would be piped south to Leeds, a city with a 660,000 population, or one per cent of the UK as a whole.

A phased conversion exercise, effectively on a street by street basis, would start from 2026 and mimic the operation that took place 60 years before when coal gas was replaced by natural gas.  Boilers in every home would be replaced.  A rolling programme would see the conversion work extended across the entire country by 2050.

The project team says that expense and disruption will be greatly reduced because the work will follow in the tracks of a major operation that is seeing Britain’s old iron gas mains replaced by polyethylene distribution pipes, which are entirely suitable for carrying hydrogen.  The geology of the area is also ideal for the bulk storage of the gas in salt caverns, making it possible to even out the enormous differences in seasonal demand that could defeat the use of electricity for heating on a similar scale.

At least 90% of the CO2 created as a by-product of the hydrogen manufacture will be captured and piped for permanent sequestration deep beneath the North Sea.  Sufficient storage capacity for 90 years of production has already been identified, and the carbon capture and storage (CCS) network would provide the means of decarbonising the Teesside industrial complex.  Storing inert CO2 is strangely controversial in some countries, even when they appear to regard underground storage of inflammable methane as routine, but in the UK the idea is likely to command cross-party support.

As for the costs of all this?  The project team claim (and cynics will argue that they would say this) they are remarkably reasonable, significantly less expensive than the electrification, home insulation or heat pump alternatives, and with potential for achieving great economies of scale.  With expense shared across the national network the difference in household bills, including the boiler replacement exercise, would be very small indeed.

So is this the answer to Europe’s heating dilemma?  It deserves more study.  The gas industry is interested but it has yet to register with governments.  There’s never a single solution for every member state but with CO2-rich natural gas providing 46% of the EU’s heat a move from methane to hydrogen might prove a vital weapon in the fight against climate change.

Chris Davies led on climate and energy issues for the ALDE group in the European Parliament 1999-2014, and is an advisor to FleishmanHillard.

Le Président de l'Assemblée Nationale Me Adrien Houngbédji à la tête d'une délégation de parlementaires béninois, est intervenu ce lundi 25 juillet 2016 à la tribune des Nations Unies à New York. C'est à l'occasion d'un sommet spécial réunissant les membres de l'Union Interparlementaire (UIP) dans le cadre 70ème session ordinaire de l'assemblée générale des Nations-Unies. Voici l'intégralité de son discours.

Monsieur le Président,

Je voudrais avant tout remercier le Président de l'Assemblée Générale pour avoir programmé le point 124 de son Ordre du Jour, relatif à l'interaction entre l'Organisation des Nations Unies, les parlements nationaux et l'Union interparlementaire, sujet de grande importance pour l'efficacité des efforts de la Communauté internationale. Je voudrais également exprimer ma haute appréciation au Secrétaire Général pour y avoir consacré un rapport, particulièrement édifiant et donc fort utile sur l'étendue de cette coopération.

Je me félicite de l'envergure prise par l'interaction entre les Nations Unies, les parlements nationaux et l'Union Interparlementaire. Elle permet de mobiliser un engagement commun en faveur du renforcement de l'Etat de droit, de la Démocratie et du Développement ; elle permet d'œuvrer à l'efficacité du pouvoir législatif dans les Etats Membres ; elle permet surtout de renforcer leur contribution à la gouvernance mondiale. Sa vocation première est de promouvoir la paix et la stabilité et les conditions optimales pour le développement durable de nos sociétés.

De ce point de vue, je voudrais me féliciter de l'amorce en 2016, de l'exécution des grands Programmes adoptés par les Nations Unies en 2015. La Communauté internationale est ainsi bien outillée pour reprendre le contrôle de l'évolution de la planète et de l'Humanité et pour s'attaquer, de manière décisive, aux défis existentiels identifiés.

Pour ce faire, il importe de veiller à mobiliser toutes les énergies et toutes les contributions pour assurer une action efficiente en vue d'atteindre les objectifs normatifs que nous nous sommes fixés. Les Objectifs de Développement Durable en constituent l'expression la plus élaborée et la plus consensuelle.

En particulier, l'Assemblée Nationale du Bénin se félicite des nombreuses initiatives prises par les Agences, Fonds et Programmes des Nations Unies pour renforcer les capacités des Parlements nationaux à maîtriser les enjeux de la promotion et de la valorisation du rôle clé de la femme dans nos sociétés et pour la protéger par les législations appropriées. Le Bénin est partie prenante à ces efforts et plaide par ma voix pour leur intensification.

Dans le même ordre d'idées, l'importance prise par les questions relatives à la promotion de la Jeunesse en fait un sujet d'intérêt commun pour l'interaction des parlements avec les Nations Unies. J'en veux pour preuve la Résolution sur la participation politique des Jeunes, adoptée lors de la 42e Session de l'Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie tenue à Antananarivo, à Madagascar, du 8 au 12 juillet 2016.

Cette Résolution s'inspire de la Stratégie Jeunesse de la Francophonie pour la période 2015- 2022 qui a pour thème : « Femmes et Jeunes, Acteurs de paix et de développement ». Cette Stratégie a été adoptée par les Chefs d'Etat et de Gouvernement de la Francophonie, lors du Sommet de Dakar en 2014. Elle s'inscrit dans le sillage du Programme d'action des Nations Unies pour la Jeunesse et des nombreuses activités engagées par l'Organisation et ses Etats Membres pour la mise en œuvre de ce Programme.

La remobilisation de la Jeunesse est indispensable au regard des risques réels auxquels les jeunes démotivés et marginalisés sont exposés. Ces risques ont pour nom radicalisation et récupération des Jeunes par les courants d'extrémisme religieux violents qui facilitent leur recrutement par les organisations terroristes, dont nous connaissons et déplorons les méfaits.

A cet égard, l'Assemblée Nationale du Bénin envisage d'organiser avec l'appui des Parlements amis une conférence internationale pour une concertation renforcée sur la problématique de l'harmonisation de la législation contre le terrorisme dans les pays africains. Cette initiative s'avère indispensable au regard de la hausse considérable de la cote d'alerte au terrorisme dans nos pays. Elle se justifie aussi par les différences de performances relevées entre les Etats africains, en particulier dans l'intégration dans nos dispositifs juridiques internes des instruments internationaux relatifs à la lutte contre le terrorisme, et la criminalité transnationale, comme moyen de prévention du terrorisme.

Au-delà de ces dispositions, il importe que l'interaction entre l'Union interparlementaire et les Nations Unies contribue à honorer l'engagement pris dans le Programme de Développement Durable à l'Horizon 2030, de ne laisser personne sur le quai. Les situations qui affectent de manière disproportionnée les couches les plus vulnérables méritent une attention particulière. Sur ce registre, figurent, entre autres, le chômage des jeunes, l'amenuisement de ressources vitales du fait des effets néfastes des changements climatiques, la dislocation du tissu social, la multiplication des crises et la persistance des conflits entrainant les mouvements de migration de masse.

Ce sont là, d'importants chantiers pour l'interaction entre les Nations Unies, les parlements nationaux et l'Union interparlementaire. Il est souhaitable que la prochaine Résolution sur cette interaction se prononce de manière explicite sur les progrès dans ces domaines.

Je vous remercie de votre aimable attention

AB InBev, numéro un mondial de la bière, a relevé ce mardi son offre sur le brasseur britannique SABMiller, né en Afrique du Sud et leader sur le continent. Une hausse qui fait suite à la chute de la livre sterling dans la foulée du vote pour le Brexit.

Cet article Bière : AB Inbev relève son offre sur SABMiller, en raison du Brexit est apparu en premier sur JeuneAfrique.com.

Ali Bongo Ondimba remettra son mandat en jeu le 27 août. Face à lui, moins d'une vingtaine de candidats, mais quelques poids lourds décidés à tout faire pour mettre le chef de l'État à la retraite.

Cet article Gabon : ils veulent tous prendre la place d’Ali Bongo Ondimba est apparu en premier sur JeuneAfrique.com.

Roberto Savio is founder and president emeritus of the Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency and publisher of Other News.

By Roberto Savio
ROME, Jul 26 2016 (IPS)

A Chinese curse is “May you live in interesting times”. That meant that too many events would disrupt the essential elements of harmony, on which the Chinese pantheon is based.

We certainly live in very interesting times where every day dramatic events pile on us, from terrorism to coup d’etat, from climate disaster to the decline of institutions and ever increasing social turmoil. It would be important, even if very difficult, to look in a nutshell why we are in this situation now – “lack of harmony” . So here goes a dramatically compressed explanation.

Roberto Savio

Let us start from a little known fact. After the Second World War, there was a general consensus on the need to avoid the repetition of its horrors. The United Nations served as the meeting place for all countries, and the Cold War created as a reaction, an association of the newly independent countries, the Non Aligned countries, which acted as a buffer between the East and West camps. More, the North South divide become the most important aspect of international relations. So much so that in 1973, the United Nations General Assembly adopted unanimously a resolution on a New International Economic Order (NIEO).The world agreed to establish a plan of action to reduce inequalities, foster global growth and make of cooperation and international law the basis for a world in harmony and peace.

After the adoption of the NIEO, the international community started to work in that direction and after a preparatory meeting in Paris in 1979, a summit of the most important heads of state was convened in Cancun, Mexico in 1981, to adopt a comprehensive plan of action. Among the 22 heads of state, came Ronald Reagan, who was elected a few weeks before, and this is where he found Margaret Thatcher who was elected in 1979. The two proceeded to cancel the NIEO and the idea of international cooperation. Countries would do policy according to their national interests, and did not bow to any abstract principle. The United Nations started its decline as the meeting place on governance.

The place for decisions became the G7, until then a technical body, and other organizations, which would defend the national interests of the powerful countries.

At the same time, three other events did help Reagan and Thatcher to change the direction of history.

One was the creation of the Washington’s consensus, elaborated in 1989 by the American Treasure, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, which imposed as policy that the market was the only real engine of societies. States were an obstacle, and they should shrink as much as possible (Reagan also considered abolishing the Ministry of Education). The impact of the Washington Consensus on the ‘Third World’ was a very painful one. Structural adjustments severely cut the fragile public system.

The second was the fall of the Berlin Wall, also in 1989, which brought an end to ideologies, and obliged adoption of neoliberal globalization, which turned out to be an even more strict ideology. The main points of neo-liberal globalization included: the rule of the market (liberating “free” enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government); cutting public expenditure for social services (and reducing the social safety net); deregulation (reducing government regulation of everything that could diminish profits); privatization (selling state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors); eliminating the concept of “the public good” or “community”and replacing it with “individual responsibility (pressuring the poorest people in a society to find solutions to their lack of health care, education and social security all by themselves – then blame them, if they fail, as “lazy”).

The third was the progressive elimination of rules of the financial sector, started by Reagan and completed by Bill Clinton in 1999. Deposit banks were able to use the depositor’s money for speculation. Finance, that was considered to be the lubricant of economy, went on its own way, embarking on very risky operations, not any longer linked to the real economy. Now we have for every dollar of production for goods and services, 40 dollars of financial transactions.

Nobody defends any longer the Washington Consensus, and the neoliberal globalization. It is clear to all that while at macro level, globalization increased trade, finance and global growth, at microeconomic level it has been a disaster. The proponents of neoliberal globalization claimed that the growth would reach everyone in the planet. Instead, growth has been concentrating more and more in fewer and fewer hands. Six years ago, 388 individuals owned the same wealth as that of 3.6 billion people. In 2014, the number of the super wealthy come down to 80 individuals. In 2015, this number came down to 62 individuals. The IMF and the World Bank have been asking to reinforce the state as the indispensible regulator, reversing their policy. But the genie is out of the bottle. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe has lost 18 million of its middle class citizens and the US 24 million. On the other hand, there are now 1,830 billionaires with a net capital of 6.4 trillion dollars. In the UK, the level of inequality in 2025 is expected to be the same at the time of Queen Victoria in 1850 at the time of the birth of capitalism.

The new world created by Reagan is based on greed. Some historians claim that greed and fear are the two main engines of history; and values and priorities change in a society of greed.

Let us come to our days. We have again a new group of three horses of Apocalypse. The damages of the previous 20 years (1981-2001), are compounded by those of the continuing twenty years (2001-2021) and we are not through yet .

The first, was that in 2008 the banking system of the US went berserk for absurd speculations on mortgages. That crisis moved to Europe in 2009, caused by the falling value of the state’s title, like the Greek ones. Let us recall that to save the banking system, countries have spent close to 4 trillion dollars. An enormous amount, if we consider that banks still have toxic titles for 800 billion dollars. Meanwhile the banks have paid 220 billion dollars in fines for illegal activities. No banker has been incriminated. Europe is not yet back to its pre-crisis level of life. Meanwhile, many jobs have disappeared because of delocalization to the cheapest place of production, and jobs with substandard salaries have increased, together with precarious ones.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), today a worker makes in real terms 16% less than before the crisis. This has affected especially young people, with a European average of 10.5% of youth unemployment. Yet, the only stimulus for growth is for the banking system, into which the European Central Bank‚ is injecting 80 billion of dollars per month. This would have solved easily the youth’s unemployment.

Economists speak now of a “New Economy”, where unemployment is structural. From 1950 to 1973, world’s growth was over 5% per year. It came down to about 3% during 1973 and 2007 (OPEP’s blockade of petrol price in 1973 marked the shift.). Since 2007 we are not able to reach 1%. We have to add the growing unemployment that the technological development is causing. Factories need a fraction of the workers they had before. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (robotizing), will bring robot production, now at 12%, to 40% in 2025. Some mainstream economists, like Larry Summers, (the establishment voice) say that we are in a period of stagnation that will last for many years. Fear for the future has become a reality, fueled by terrorism and unemployment, with many dreaming that is possible to go back to the better yesterday. This is what populist leaders, from Donald Trump to Le Pen, are riding. A consequence of the crisis was that in several European countries populist parties, engaged in a nationalist call, riding xenophobia and nationalism have emerged, 47 at the last count. Several of them are already in coalitions that govern, or directly, like in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia. Now watch the next Austrian elections.

The second horse of Apocalypse has been the result of the interventions made in Iraq by US, and then Libya and Syria by Europe (with a particular role by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy).

As a result, in 2012 Europe started to receive massive immigration, for which there was no preparation. Suddenly, people were afraid of the human tide coming, and its impact in workplace, culture, religion, etc. That become a major factor for fear.

And then the third horse was the creation of ISIS in Syria, in 2013, one of the gifts of the invasion in Iraq. Let us not forget the global crisis started in 2008, and since then populism and nationalism were on the rise. But ISIS spectacular media impact and the radicalization of many young Europeans from Arab descent, usually from the margin of societies and laws, accentuated Fear, and was a gift for the populist, now able to use xenophobia for mobilizing disaffected and insecure citizens. The decline of European institutions has brought several countries (after Brexit), to call for a deep revision of the European project. Hungary is going for a referendum on 2 of October. Would you accept an immigrant quota imposed by the EU, against the will of the Hungarian parliament? The same day there will be the re-run of Austrian elections, that the extreme right wing lost for 36,000 votes. Then the Netherlands, France and Germany will follow, with an expected increase of the extreme right wing parties. At the same time, Poland and Slovakia also want to have a referendum about the EU. It could well be that at the end of 2017, European institutions will be deeply wounded.

The real problem is that since the failed Cancun Summit in 1981, countries have lost the ability to think together. India, Japan, China, and many other are going through a tide of nationalism. In Cancun, all participants, from Francois Mitterrand to Indira Gandhi, from Julius Nyerere to Pierre Trudeau shared a set of common values.: social justice, solidarity, the respect of international law, and the conviction that strong societies were the basis for democracy (except of course for Reagan and Thatcher). She famously declared: there is no such thing as a society, there are only individuals). They shared many books. They considered peace and development as the paradigm for governance. All this has been swept away. Politicians, left without ideologies, subordinated to finance, have turned mainly to an administrative debate, on singles issues, without a framework, where left or right have become difficult to discern. We are clearly in a period of Greed and Fear.

Time is not helping. In 1900 Europe had 24% of the world population. At the end of this century, Europe will be 4%. Nigeria will be more populous than the US. Africa, now at 1 billion, will be 2 billion by 2050, and 3 billion by 2100. It is time now to engage all together to discuss how to face the coming world. We took 25 years to reach an agreement on climate, maybe it is too late. On migration and employment, two and a half decades is an eternity. But this must be a global agreement, not just a kneejerk reflex by Chancellor Angela Merkel in total solitude, without even consulting French President Francois Hollande. But this kind of agenda is politically unimaginable. How to discuss these issues with Le Pen, Donald Trump, the other emerging populists and the nationalist tide that runs in the world?

Le Forum mondial atteste que la Suisse respecte en grosles standards internationaux. Maurer s’en réjouit mais reste vigilant.

Le chanteur congolais Koffi Olomidé, au centre d’une polémique pour avoir donné un violent coup de pied à l’une de ses danseuses, a été interpellé mardi 26 juillet à son domicile de Kinshasa.

(B2) Deux femmes vont prendre successivement les postes manquants dans les missions de la PSDC au Niger et en Somalie. Leur nomination sera effective le 1er septembre. Mais elle a été avalisée par le COPS, Comité politique et de sécurité, lors de leur dernière réunion avant la pause estivale, ce mardi (26 juillet) sur une […]

Weshalb können eritreische Flüchtlinge in ihre Heimat reisen? Wie schlimm ist die Menschenrechtssituation wirklich? Fragen und Antworten zu einem Land, in dem weniger als zehn Schweizer leben.

Szervezésében 16 civil szervezet és több magánszemély vesz részt, a programot pedig a kishegyesi helyi közösség koordinálja.

POZSONY, MÜNCHEN. Egyelőre nem bizonyosodott be egyértelműen, hogy a bajorországi Münchenben pénteken történt támadás során egy szlovákiai üzletben vásárolt fegyvert használtak – hangsúlyozta Lukáš Hrnčiarik fegyverkereskedő.

« Les arguties juridiques, les précautions, les prétextes à une action incomplète ne sont pas admissibles », estime le président des Républicains.

Commercial Bank of Africa, l'une des plus importantes banques du Kenya, a envoyé une lettre - consultée par l'agence américaine "Bloomberg" - à la Banque centrale du Congo pour exprimer son intérêt dans la reprise de la Biac, un des plus grands établissements bancaires de la RD Congo, actuellement en difficultés.

Cet article RD Congo : une banque kényane candidate à la reprise de la Biac, affirme Bloomberg est apparu en premier sur JeuneAfrique.com.

Commercial Bank of Africa, l'une des plus importantes banques du Kenya, a envoyé une lettre - consultée par l'agence américaine "Bloomberg" - à la Banque centrale du Congo pour exprimer son intérêt dans la reprise de la Biac, un des plus grands établissements bancaires de la RD Congo, actuellement en difficultés.

Cet article RD Congo : une banque kényane candidate à la reprise de la Biac, affirme Bloomberg est apparu en premier sur JeuneAfrique.com.