Balkan News

YB holt dank eines Last-Minute-Treffers gegen GC einen Punkt. Wer hat beim Torfestival überzeugt? Und wer agierte zu fehlerhaft? Hier gehts zu den Noten.

But the risk of a further flare-up in trade tensions and signs of slowing wage growth, are sparking concerns the ECB may need to make more cuts later

The €1 billion EU-backed project is seen as key to connecting Iberia with France and Germany and shifting passengers from planes to trains

Sinan Karweina kommt in Luzern kaum zu Spielzeit. FCL-Coach Mario Frick hat seine Gründe dafür.

Liverpool verliert, verliert und verliert. Das 0:3 im Liga-Cup gegen Crystal Palace ist die sechste Niederlage aus den letzten sieben Pflichtspielen. Der Trainer gerät vermehrt in die Kritik, doch dieser verteidigt seine Rotationsmassnahmen.

Im Podcast «Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know» wird Prinz Harry gefragt, was er über den Streit zwischen Swift und Charli XCX denkt. Sein Blick sagt mehr als tausend Worte: er hat keine Ahnung, worum es geht.

Donald Trump will wieder Atombomben testen – zum ersten Mal seit über 30 Jahren. Offiziell, um mit China und Russland «gleichzuziehen». Tatsächlich aber stellt seine Ankündigung die jahrzehntelange US-Politik infrage – und weckt Erinnerungen an den Kalten Krieg.

Ein 45-jähriger Mann wurde wegen jahrelanger Misshandlung seiner Tochter zu fünf Jahren Haft und zehn Jahren Landesverweisung verurteilt. Das Bundesgericht bestätigte das Urteil des Zürcher Obergerichts.

Ein Syrer muss die Schweiz verlassen, nachdem er 2017 in Thun einen Angriff auf eine Gruppe organisiert hatte. Das Bundesgericht wies seine Beschwerde ab und bestätigte die Landesverweisung.

Die Auto Zürich setzt mit Medienpartner Ringier ein neues Format an der Auto Zürich um. Opel und VW entführen die Zuschauer auf der innovativen Bühne in ihren kostenlosen Sondershows in die Vergangenheit, um den Bogen ins Jetzt und weiter in die Zukunft zu spannen.

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IPI and the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) cohosted an interactive event on “The Ghosts of 1325: Past, Present, Future” followed by a reception, on October 29th.

Bringing together women peacebuilders, civil society leaders, member states, UN agencies, and media, this event was hosted in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nation, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), the PAIMAN Alumni Foundation, the Association for War Affected Women (AWAW), the Center for Civil Society and Democracy (CCSD), the Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN), and Wo=Men Dutch Gender Platform.

Speakers invoked “The Ghosts of 1325”—carrying the voices of the past, present, and future to confront the Security Council with its unfilled promises. The event provided an opportunity for reflecting on, reckoning with, and renewing collective commitment to the vision of Resolution 1325.

On October 31, 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security (WPS)—the first resolution to recognize women’s leadership and participation as critical to peace and security. From the outset, civil society has driven the WPS agenda, setting its vision, pushing governments to act, and holding them accountable while leading implementation on the ground.

Twenty-five years later, despite normative progress, women’s inclusion in peace processes remains the exception rather than the rule. Implementation has too often lagged behind rhetoric, and the WPS agenda risks being sidelined in transactional geopolitics. An agenda rooted in the prevention of war and humanization of security stands in contrast to current trends of rising violence and militarization. Marking the 25th anniversary offers an opportunity not merely to commemorate, but to provoke urgent reflection: What if 1325 were fully realized? What if it fades into irrelevance?

Speakers:
Phoebe Donnelly, Senior Fellow and Head of Women, Peace, and Security, International Peace Institute
Andreas Løvold, Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations
Paul Shrubsole, Acting WPS Focal Point, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations
Sanam Anderlini, Founder and CEO, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Visaka Dharmadasa, Founder and Chair, Association of War Affected Women
Cerue Garlo, Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership
Mossarat Qadeem, Founder and President PAIMAN Alumni Trust
Helena Gronberg, Program Director, ICAN
France Bognon, Managing Director and Co-CEO, ICAN
Rajaa Altalli, Co-Founder, Center for Civil Society and Democracy
Adam Lupel, Executive Director, Coalition for the UN We Need
Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Former Canadian Senator representing British Columbia
Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Founder of Global Movement for the Culture of Peace

 

The post The Ghosts of 1325: Past, Present, Future appeared first on International Peace Institute.

TASR: Az év 43. hetében 33,5 százalékkal emelkedett Pozsony megyében az influenzások és az influenzaszerű megbetegedésben szenvedők száma. Összesen 65 megbetegedést regisztráltak az orvosok – tájékoztatott a közösségi médiában a Pozsonyi Regionális Közegészségügyi Hivatal (RÚVZ).

A Szociális Biztosító (SP) és az Egészségügyi Információk Nemzeti Központja (NCZI) új űrlapot vezet be november 1-jétől, szombattól az elektronikusan kiállított betegszabadság (ePN) igazolására – tájékoztatott weboldalán a betegbiztosító.

MTI: Több ismeretlen drón repült el a belgiumi Marche-en-Famenne mellett található katonai tábor felett, a rendőrséget értesítették és nyomozást indítottak. Ez már a második gyanús drónészlelés volt október folyamán a belga légtrében - közölte a belga védelmi minisztérium tájékoztatása alapján az RTBF belga közszolgálati rádió és televízió internetes oldalán szerdán.

European industry actors are warning that the uptake in Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) is moving more slowly than predicted in the EU, prompting calls for fresh thinking in Brussels

With just five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the global financing gap has widened to $4.3 trillion per year. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), held in Sevilla in July 2025, sought to renew multilateral consensus around mobilizing resources for sustainable development.

This issue brief by David Mulet analyzes the Compromiso de Sevilla—the conference’s negotiated outcome—and the Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA), a voluntary registry of 130 coalitions and initiatives. It highlights how new mechanisms on sovereign debt, blended finance, and climate-linked instruments are translating commitments into action. 

At the same time, the brief underscores persistent gaps in systemic reform, including of the international debt architecture, international tax cooperation, the large-scale reallocation of special drawing rights, governance of the multilateral development banks, and climate finance. It argues that closing the global financing gap requires bridging intergovernmental commitments with voluntary innovation to ensure that experimentation accumulates into structural change. 

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The post The Financing for Development Agenda after Sevilla: Aligning Commitments and Actions appeared first on International Peace Institute.

Das 28. Regime ist eine geplante einheitliche EU-Gesellschaftsform, die Unternehmensgründungen und -expansion über Ländergrenzen hinweg erleichtern soll.

A man farms in rural Ghana. Credit: Courtesy of Land Rights Defenders Inc.

By Nana Kwesi Osei Bonsu
COLUMBUS Ohio, USA , Oct 28 2025 (IPS)

I had hoped to attend this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) in person, to stand alongside fellow Indigenous leaders and advocate for the rights of our communities.

However, due to my ongoing political asylum proceedings before the U.S. immigration court, it is not advisable for me to leave the United States until a final determination is made. While I may not be there physically, my voice—and the voices of those I represent—remains firmly present in this dialogue.

The founding of Land Rights Defenders Inc. was born from a deep conviction: that Indigenous peoples, despite being the most effective stewards of biodiversity, are too often excluded from the decisions that shape our lands and futures.

Our territories hold over 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity—not because of external interventions, but because of centuries of careful stewardship rooted in respect, reciprocity, and resilience.

We do not protect the land because it is a resource. We protect it because it is sacred.

Land Rights Defenders Inc. Founder Nana Kwese Osei Bonsu. Courtesy: Land Rights Defenders Inc.

Land Rights Are Climate Rights

The evidence is clear: where Indigenous communities have secure land tenure, deforestation rates drop, biodiversity thrives, and carbon is stored more effectively. In the Amazon and across Africa, Indigenous-managed lands outperform even state-protected areas in preserving forest cover and absorbing carbon.

Yet, these lands are under constant threat—from extractive industries, infrastructure projects, and even misguided conservation efforts. Too often, climate solutions are imposed without consent, displacing people in the name of progress.

As I’ve said before, “For Indigenous communities, land rights are not just a legal issue but the very foundation of our cultures, livelihoods, and futures.”

A Story of Hope and Impact

One of the most significant victories we’ve achieved at Land Rights Defenders Inc. was our successful intervention in the Benimasi-Boadi Indigenous Community Conserved Area in Ghana. This ancestral land, stewarded by the Huahi Achama Tutuwaa Royal Family—descendants of King Osei Tutu I—was under threat from unauthorized exploitation and institutional land grabs.

This case is especially personal to me. The Benimasi-Boadi community is part of my ancestral lineage, and witnessing the threats to its sacred lands was one of the driving forces behind my decision to found Land Rights Defenders Inc.

We submitted spatial data and a formal case study to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the UNEP-WCMC, advocating for the enforcement of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). This action helped establish international recognition of the community’s rights and halted further encroachment.

We also supported the community in appealing a biased ruling influenced by the Kumasi Traditional Council and filed a Special Procedure complaint to the UN Human Rights Council, seeking redress for victims of human rights violations by local authorities and police forces.

This wasn’t just a legal win—it was a cultural and spiritual victory. It affirmed the community’s right to protect its sacred heritage and inspired broader advocacy for the enforcement of Ghana’s Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), which we continue to champion today.

Climate Finance Must Reach the Ground

Each year, billions are pledged for climate action, but less than 1 percent reaches Indigenous-led initiatives. This is not just unjust—it’s inefficient. Indigenous peoples have proven time and again that we know how to protect our environments. What we need is direct support, not intermediaries.

Climate finance must be restructured to empower Indigenous communities as decision-makers. We need flexible funding that respects our governance systems and supports our solutions.

From Consultation to Consent

I’ve seen how governments and corporations “consult” Indigenous communities after decisions have already been made. This practice violates the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), which is enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We must move beyond symbolic inclusion. Indigenous communities must have the power to say no—to projects that threaten our lands, cultures, and futures.

Indigenous Knowledge Is Climate Wisdom

Our knowledge systems are not relics of the past—they are blueprints for the future. From controlled burns in Australia to water harvesting in the Andes, Indigenous practices offer time-tested strategies for climate adaptation and resilience.

As Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons of the Ojibwe people said at COP28, “We must be good caretakers and not bad landlords. It’s not just Indigenous Peoples; it’s all human beings. It’s all plant life, it’s all water bodies, our sky relatives. We are all related.”

We must protect Indigenous knowledge from misappropriation and ensure that partnerships are built on mutual respect. Our science is equal to Western science, and our voices must be heard.

A Call to Action

To ensure climate justice is more than a slogan, I urge COP30 negotiators, governments, and civil society to take the following steps:

• • ● Guarantee Indigenous land rights through legal recognition and protection.
  • ● Ensure direct access to climate finance for Indigenous-led initiatives.
  • ● Embed FPIC into all climate-related agreements and mechanisms.
  • ● Elevate Indigenous leadership in decision-making spaces, not just side events.

● Protect Indigenous knowledge systems through ethical and equitable partnerships.

As I reflect on my journey—from fleeing persecution in Ghana to building a global movement for Indigenous land rights—I am reminded that resilience is not born from comfort, but from conviction. While our current work is focused on the Benimasi-Boadi community due to limited resources, it is our hope to expand this mission to other communities as we work to secure sustainable funding.

Though I may not be present at COP in person, I am there in spirit—with the elders who taught me to listen to the land, the youth who carry our legacy forward, and the global allies who believe that justice must begin with those who have protected the Earth the longest.

Let this be the COP where Indigenous voices are not just heard—but heeded.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Excerpt:

Each year, billions are pledged for climate action, but less than 1 percent reaches Indigenous-led initiatives. This is not just unjust—it’s inefficient, argues Nana Kwesi Osei Bonsu Founder of Land Rights Defenders Inc.

Nach Angaben aus EU-Kreisen wird die Kommission in den kommenden Wochen verschiedene Finanzierungsoptionen für die Ukraine vorlegen.

A Community Health Worker in a door-to-door campaign to vaccinate people in communities in Nanyamba village, Mtwara Region, in southeastern Tanzania. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

By Kizito Makoye
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Oct 28 2025 (IPS)

When COVID-19 hit Tanzania in 2020, Alfred Kisena’s life was torn apart. The 51-year-old teacher still remembers the night he learned that his wife, Maria, had succumbed to the virus at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He wasn’t allowed to see her in her final moments.

“The doctors said it was too dangerous, and the virus was contagious,” Kisena said, gazing at a faded photo of her hanging on the wall.

Maria’s burial took place in eerie isolation. Municipal workers dressed in white protective gear lowered her body into a tomb at Ununio Cemetery on the city’s outskirts.

“Saying goodbye to a loved one is sacred, but I didn’t get a chance,” he said.

Across Tanzania, many families endured the same pain—losing loved ones and being denied the rituals that give meaning to loss. The government imposed strict measures: banning gatherings, restricting hospital visits, and prohibiting traditional burial rites. Schools shut down, and for three months, Kisena’s five children stayed home, their education abruptly halted.

“I was not working, so it was hard to meet the needs of my family,” he said. “We survived on the little savings I had.”

Five years later, as the scars of that crisis linger, Tanzania is charting a new path toward resilience. Earlier this month, the government launched its first-ever Pandemic Fund Project, aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to prevent and respond to health crises.

Supported by a USD25 million grant from the global Pandemic Fund and USD13.7 million in co-financing, the initiative marks a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive preparedness. It unites local and international partners—including WHO, UNICEF, and FAO—under a “One Health” framework that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.

Learning from the Past

The memories of COVID-19 and the more recent Marburg outbreak remain vivid. When the pandemic first struck, Tanzania’s laboratories were under-equipped, surveillance systems were weak, and community health workers were overwhelmed.

Tanzania’s Deputy Prime Minister, Doto Biteko, said during the launch that the lessons from those crises shaped the country’s new determination.

“For the past 20 years, the world has battled multiple health emergencies, and Tanzania is no exception,” he said. “We have seen how pandemics disrupt lives and economies. Strengthening our capacity to prepare and respond is not optional—it is a necessity.”

That necessity has only grown as Tanzania faces rising risks of zoonotic diseases linked to deforestation, wildlife trade, and climate change. The new project aims to address these vulnerabilities by upgrading laboratories, expanding disease surveillance, and training health workers across the country.

The Human Frontlines

In southern Kisarawe District, 38-year-old community health worker Ana Msechu walks along dusty roads with a backpack containing medicine, gloves, and health records.

“Sometimes I walk for three hours just to reach one family,” Msechu said. “During the pandemic, people stopped trusting us. They thought we were bringing the disease.”

With no protective gear or transport allowance, Msechu faced villagers’ suspicion head-on. At the height of the pandemic, she lost a colleague to the virus. Yet she continued, delivering messages about hygiene and vaccination.

“Sometimes we didn’t even have masks—we used pieces of cloth instead,” she recalled.

The new initiative, she believes, could change that. Implementing partners plan to supply personal protective equipment (PPE), digital tools for data collection, and regular training sessions.

“If we get proper support and respect, we can save many lives before diseases spread,” she said.

“Community health workers are the backbone of resilience,” said Patricia Safi Lombo, UNICEF’s Deputy Representative to Tanzania. “They are the first point of contact for families and play a critical role in delivering life-saving information and services.”

UNICEF’s role will focus on risk communication and community engagement—ensuring that people in rural and urban areas understand preventive measures, recognize early symptoms, and trust the health system.

Between Fear and Duty

Hamisi Mjema, a health volunteer in Kilosa District, remembers how fear became his biggest enemy.

When the Marburg virus hit last year, his job was to trace suspected cases and educate families about isolation.

“I was insulted many times, and some families wouldn’t even let me into their homes,” he said.

Without transport or communication tools, Hamisi walked from one remote village to another with his bicycle, often relying on farmers to share their phone airtime so he could report cases to district health officials.

Under the new initiative, local health officers say community health workers will receive field kits, digital disease-reporting tools, and risk communication materials in local languages.

“It will make our work safer and faster,” he said. “When we detect something early, the whole country benefits.”

Fighting Misinformation

In a lakeside village in Kigoma, volunteer health educator Fatuma Mfaume recalls how rumors once spread faster than the virus itself.

“People were afraid,” she said. “They said vaccines would make women barren. Others believed doctors were poisoning us.”

Armed with a megaphone, Mfaume moved through villages trying to dispel falsehoods—often facing insults. But her persistence paid off. Slowly, women began bringing their children for immunization again.

With the new project, she hopes community workers like her will gain formal recognition and training in communication skills.

“Many of us work without pay,” Mfaume said. “If this project can train us properly and give us materials, we can fight not just disease but fear and lies too.”

Animal-Borne Threats

At the same time, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is strengthening animal health systems, recognizing that most pandemics originate from animals.

“By improving coordination between veterinary and public health services, Tanzania is taking vital steps to prevent zoonotic diseases before they spill over to humans,” said Stella Kiambi, FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases Team Lead.

These measures include upgrading veterinary laboratories, improving disease surveillance in livestock markets, and training field officers to detect early signs of outbreaks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is also supporting efforts to strengthen human health systems—from expanding testing capacity to developing rapid response teams.

“This project marks a bold step forward in health security,” said Dr. Galbert Fedjo, WHO Health Systems Coordinator. “It advances a One Health approach that links human, animal, and environmental health.”

Rebuilding Trust and Hope

For Priya Basu, Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund, Tanzania’s project represents “an important step in strengthening the country’s preparedness to prevent and respond to future health threats.”

Across Africa, the Fund—established in 2022—has supported 47 projects in 75 countries with USD 885 million in grants, catalyzing more than USD 6 billion in additional financing.

According to the World Bank, every USD 1 invested in pandemic preparedness can save up to USD 20 in economic losses during an outbreak.

For Tanzania—a nation that lost thousands of lives and suffered deep economic shocks during COVID-19—the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“Preparedness is about saving lives and livelihoods,” said Dr. Ali Mzige, a public health expert. “It’s about making sure families don’t suffer when a pandemic strikes.”

For Kisena, the government’s new initiative is a quiet promise that the lessons of loss have not been forgotten.

“Maria’s death taught me how precious life is,” he said. “If this project can protect even one family from that kind of pain, then it will mean her death was not in vain.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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