ROME MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2013

JOURNALISTS BACKGROUND GUIDE

Prepared by Gian Maria Volpicelli - AL JAZEERA English Nicola Del Medico - RUSSIA TODAY Edoardo Quadri - BCC World News Federico Petroni - CNN International Sofia Bettiza - FRANCE 24 Marta Vigneri - RAI NEWS 24 The Post Internazionale Contact: journalists@romemun.org

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH CNN INTERNATIONAL FRANCE 24 BBC WORLD NEWS RUSSIA TODAY RAI NEWS 24

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH

1) INTRODUCTION 2) HISTORY 3) ONLINE PLATFORM 4) PROGRAMS 5) BOUREAU LOCATIONS - MIDDLE EAST - AFRICA - EUROPE - AMERICAS - ASIA AND IN AUSTRALIA 6) PRESENT PERSONALITIES - SOME BIOGRAPHIES 7) CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSIES 8) AL JAZEERA ENGLISH AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS 9) ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUNS AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) INTRODUCTION
Al Jazeera English (AJE) is an international 24-hour English-language news and current affairs TV channel headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It is the sister channel of the Arabic-language Al Jazeera1. The station broadcasts news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current affairs, business, technology and sports. The station claims to be the first global high-definition television network. Al Jazeera English is the world's first English-language news channel headquartered in the Middle East. The channel aims to provide both a regional voice and a global perspective to a potential world audience of over one billion English speakers who don't have an Anglo-American worldview. Instead of being run under central command, news management rotates around broadcasting centers in Doha and London. Complete news bulletins from Kuala Lumpur stopped on 30 September 2010 and from Washington D.C on 28 January 2011. These have been replaced by news from Doha, with news inserts from Kuala Lumpur ending in early 2011 and Washington D.C on 15 April 2012. Al Jazeera English is one of the few foreign media outlets to have agencies in Gaza and Harare. The network's stated objective is "to give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challenge established perceptions." Al Jazeera English has stated objectives of emphasizing news from the developing world, of "reversing the North to South flow of information" and of "setting the news agenda" (also the channel's slogan). Some observers have commented that this focus can be seen, in the eyes of Western viewers, as casting Al Jazeera English as a global "alternative" news network, though the entire Al Jazeera brand has been heavily mainstreamed in many parts of the world. Other Al Jazeera English slogans and catchphrases include: "All the News | All the Time", "Fearless Journalism" and "If it's newsworthy, it gets on air, whether it's Bush or Bin Laden". Al Jazeera's Code of Ethics mirrors some of these statements. Award winning Creative teams shaped the English brand identity, the on-air studios and its "Every Angle, Every Side" promotional positioning, led by Director of Creative, Morgan Almeida, "to extend the Arabic heritage in a language familiar to diverse global audiences".

2) HISTORY
The channel was launched in 2006. It was due to be called Al Jazeera International, but the name was changed nine months before the launch because "one of the Qatar-based channel's backers decided that the broadcaster already had an international scope with its original Arabic outlet." The channel had expected to reach around 40 million households, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes. As of 2009, Al Jazeera's English-language service can be viewed in every major European market and is available to 130 million homes in over 100 countries via cable and satellite, according to Molly Conroy, a spokeswoman for the network in Washington.

Al Jazeera, in Arabic, means literally The Island, although this name is supposed to be a reference to the Arabian Peninsula

In 2008, Al Jazeera English won the Golden Nymph award for Best 24-Hour News Program at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. The jurors singled out Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent, for her bravery in reporting from the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera English also received nominations in several other news categories, for example the Best News Documentary award for the report Inside Myanmar The Crackdown. More recently, in 2012, the channel was awarded the George Polk Award for Television Documentary for "Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark" and the Alfred I. Du Pont Award of the Columbia University for "Haiti: Six Months On". Al Jazeera English and Iran's state-run Press TV were the only international English-language television broadcasters with journalists reporting from inside both Gaza and Israel during the 20082009 IsraelGaza conflict. Foreign press access to Gaza has been limited via either Egypt or Israel. However, Al Jazeera's reporters Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros were already inside Gaza when the conflict began and the network's coverage was often compared to CNN's initial coverage from inside Baghdad in the early days of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

3) ONLINE PLATFORM
The channel may also be viewed online. With Al Jazeera's coverage of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the channel drew acclaim and received renewed attention. The New York Times reported on 1 February 2011 that 1.6 million U.S. viewers had tuned in via Internet stream, and stated that new discussions were underway with carriers; When Al Jazeera covered the 2011 Libyan civil war, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted an increasing American audience for the network, saying that "viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because its real news. You may not agree with it, but you feel like youre getting real news around the clock instead of a million commercials andyou knowarguments between talking heads and the kind of stuff that we do on our news whichyou knowis not particularly informative to us, let alone foreigners".

4) PROGRAMMES
Current programs on the channel are: 101 East weekly show hosted by Fauziah Ibrahim; Asian politics, business and current affairs Counting The Cost hosted by Kamahl Santamaria; a weekly look at business and finance Empire monthly program exploring global powers and their policies. A discussion with host Marwan Bishara and his guests The Frost Interview hosted by David Frost Fault Lines presented by Sebastian Walker, Zeina Awad and Josh Rushing "Looking deeper into the US and its place in the world" Inside Story "analysis, background, and context on the day's top story" Inside Syria - A focus on the recent events in the Syrian Civil War, successor of the previous Inside Iraq. Inside Story Americas presented from Washington DC "Dissecting the day's top story from the Americas"

 Listening Post hosted by Richard Gizbert; Al Jazeera English revisits and reviews how other news organizations covered the news that week and presents viewer-submitted news News: - World news live from Al Jazeera's Doha broadcast centre - World news live from Al Jazeera's London broadcast centre - Newshour an hour of world news and sport hosted from both of Al Jazeera's broadcast centres, sometimes linked together. - News headlines are broadcast generally every half hour People & Power biweekly program hosted by Samah El-Shahat, Juliana Ruhfus and Sapna Bhatia. "People & Power is about power in the 21st century who has it, who wants it and how it is being used and abused" The Stream a program focusing on social media hosted by Imran Garda and Malika Bilal. Witness hosted by Ghida Fakhry, it is a daily presentation of short documentaries Al Jazeera World a series of one-hour documentaries showcasing films from across the Al Jazeera Network Earthrise- it explores solutions to today's environmental challenges, taking an upbeat look at ecological, scientific, technological and design projects the world over" 'South2North - Global talk show hosted from Africa as Redi Tlhabi talks frankly to inspiring & intriguing personalities from across the world. Al Jazeera Correspondent - Al Jazeera reveals the passion, experience and insight of its journalists as they explore the events and stories they have experienced or reported on. Talk to Al Jazeera - Al Jazeera interviews the people making the headlines. Activate - Telling the stories of activists around the world as they challenge authority and stand up for what they believe in.

5) BOUREAU LOCATIONS
In addition to its four main broadcast centers, Al Jazeera English has 21 supporting bureaux around the world, which gather and produce news. It also shares resources with its Arabiclanguage sister channel's 42 bureaux and is planning to add further bureaux, to be announced as they open. After it began broadcasting in Canada in May 2010, the network announced plans to open a Canadian bureau office in June 2010 in Toronto. This is a significant difference from the present trend. Also Al Jazeera presenters can alternate between broadcast centres. Middle East Broadcast Centre: Doha Anchors: Dareen Abu Ghaida, Emike Umolu, Folly Bah Thibault, Nick Clark, Stephen Cole, Jane Dutton, Ghida Fakhry, Kevin Corriveau, David Foster, Shiulie Ghosh, Darren Jordon, Tony Harris, Divya Gopalan, Laura Kyle, Teymoor Nabili, Sohail Rahman, Kamahl Santamaria, Sami Zeidan, Shakuntala Santhiran

Correspondents: Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Hashem Ahelbarra, James Bays, Clayton Swisher, Sherine Tadros, Nadim Baba in Gaza, Imran Khan, Mike Hanna, Anita McNaught, Nicole Johnston, Rawya Rageh, Sana Hamouche, Gerald Tan, Dorothy Parvaz, Stefanie Dekker, Tony Birtley, Sue Turton Bureaux and correspondents: Beirut: Rula Amin Gaza: Sherine Tadros Ramallah: Nour Odeh Tehran: Alireza Ronaghi Baghdad: Jane Arraf Africa Bureaux: Cairo, Abidjan, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Harare Correspondents: Redi Tlhabi, Amr El Kahky, Haru Mutasa, Mohammed Adow, Mohamad Vall, Yvonne Ndege, Andrew Simmons, Harriet Martin, Peter Greste Europe Broadcast Centre: London Anchors: Adrian Finighan, Felicity Barr, Barbara Serra, Lauren Taylor, Julie MacDonald Correspondents: Alan Fisher, Laurence Lee, Tim Friend, Nazanine Moshiri, Barnaby Phillips, Tania Paige, Akhtam Suliman, Lee Wellings, Charles Stratford Bureaux and correspondents: Moscow: Neave Barker Paris: Jacky Rowland Rome: Claudio Lavanga Berlin: Nick Spicer Athens: John Psaropoulos Americas Bureaux and Correspondents: Bogota: Monica Villamizar Buenos Aires: Lucia Newman, Theresa Bo Caracas: Mariana Sanchez and Lucrecia Franco New York: Kristen Saloomey, Cath Turner (United Nations) Washington D.C.: Patty Culhane, Rosiland Jordan, Shihab Rattansi Mexico City: Franc Contreras So Paulo: Gabriel Elizondo Toronto: Imtiaz Tyab Los Angeles: Rob Reynolds
Asia and Australasia

Correspondents: Wayne Hay Bureaux and Correspondents: Islamabad (Pakistan): Kamal Hyder Jakarta (Indonesia): Step Vaessen Dhaka (Bangladesh): Nicolas Haque New Delhi (India): Prerna Suri Manila (Philippines): Marga Ortigas Kabul (Afghanistan): Steve Chao

PRESENT PERSONALITIES
Dareen Abu Ghaida (Dubai One, Bloomberg, CNBC) Richard Angwin (BBC, Met Office) Zeina Awad (BBC World) Marwan Bishara (American University of Paris) Felicity Barr (ITN) Stephen Cole (BBC World, CNN International, Sky News) Brendan Connor (CBC) Ghida Fakhry (Asharq Al-Awsat, LBC, various) Elizabeth Filippouli (ERT) Alan Fisher (GMTV) Everton Fox (BBC World) David Frost (BBC World, ITV, TV-am) Steve Gaisford (Sky News, ITV, Channel 5) Imran Garda (Supersport) Steff Gaulter (Sky News, Met Office) Shiulie Ghosh (ITN) Richard Gizbert (ABC) Tony Harris (CNN) Fauziah Ibrahim (STTV, CNBC) Darren Jordon (BBC World) Riz Khan (BBC World, CNN International) Avi Lewis (CBC) Julie MacDonald (ITV, BBC World, GMTV) Teymoor Nabili (BBC World, CNBC) Rageh Omaar (BBC World) Marga Ortigas (GMA News and Public Affairs, CNN) Shahnaz Pakravan (BBC World, ITN) Vernica Pedrosa (ABS-CBN, BBC World, CNN International) Cal Perry (CNN) Shihab Rattansi (Channel NewsAsia, CNN International) Andy Richardson (Sky News, ITN) Josh Rushing (US Marine Corps) Kamahl Santamaria (Sky News Australia, TV3 News) Shakuntala Santhiran (BBC World, CNN)

Mark Seddon (BBC World, Sky News, Channel 4, various) Barbara Serra (Sky News) Folly Bah Thibault (France 24) Hoda Abdel-Hamid(ABC News, France 3) Sherine Tadros (Al-Arabiya) Anita McNaught (TVNZ, CNN) Andrew Simmons Harriet Martin Adrian Finighan (CNN) Lucia Newman (CNN) Claudio Lavanga Jane Arraf (Christian Science Monitor) John Psaropoulos

6) SOME BIOGRAPHIES
David Frost is a British journalist and media personality best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being former United States President Richard Nixon. His series of interviews of Nixon was the subject of the 2008 film Frost/Nixon. From 2006-2012 he hosted the weekly program Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English. Since 2012 he has been hosting the weekly program The Frost Interview. Sherine Tadros is an Arab-British journalist based in the Middle East. She is the Al Jazeeras correspondent based in Doha, Qatar. After obtaining two degrees in Middle East politics, Tadros worked for the Al-Arabiya network as executive producer, before joining Al Jazeera in 2005. During the 20082009 IsraelGaza conflict, Sherine and Ayman Mohyeldin, her co-reporter at Al Jazeera, were the only journalists for the English-language news media reporting from inside Gaza. Foreign press access to Gaza had been limited via either Egypt or Israel. However, Sherine and Ayman were already inside Gaza when the conflict began. She also covered the 2011 Egyptian revolution during the latter stages of the unrest. Cath Turner is an Australian journalism of Vietnamese origin, based in the United States. She was born in Saigon in 1974 during the Vietnam War and was adopted by an Australian family the following year. After studying journalism at university, Cath started her media career as a newsreader in radio. In 2006, she joined Al Jazeera English and she moved to Kuala Lumpur as a news producer for the networks launch. She travelled extensively around Asia and produced a number of feature stories from the region. In 2008, she was promoted to reporter and moved to Washington, D.C. to cover the biggest story of the year: the U.S. election. Since 2009, she has been based in New York as a correspondent and reports on the United Nations, Wall Street and around the five boroughs.

7) CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSIES

Emmy award winning journalist Dave Marash, who served as a veteran correspondent for ABC's Nightline, resigned from his position as Washington anchor for Al Jazeera English in 2008. Marash cited "reflexive adversarial editorial stance" against Americans and "anti- American bias". On February 14, 2011 however, Dave Marash defended Al Jazeera English on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. On 12 October 2008, Al Jazeera English broadcast interviews with people attending a Sarah Palin 2008 United States presidential election rally in St. Clairsville, Ohio, with interviewees making comments about Barack Obama such as "he regards white people as trash" and "I'm afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over". The report received over 2 million views on YouTube. Following this the Washington Post ran an op-ed, claiming the news channel was deliberately encouraging "anti-American sentiment overseas", which was criticized by Al Jazeera as "a gratuitous and uninformed shot at Al Jazeera's motives", as the report was just one of "hundreds of hours of diverse coverage". Al Jazeera English's longtime China correspondent Melissa Chan was expelled from the country in 2012. The Chinese government did not provide any public reasons but was known to have been unhappy over a documentary the channel had aired on China's prison system.

8) AL JAZEERA ENGLISH AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Given Al Jazeera Englishs commitment of "reversing the North to South flow of information it is all but surprising that the Millennium Development Goals which are aimed at bettering the conditions of the underdeveloped or developing countries have often been given visibility on the networks platform. AJE has covered this issue quite thoroughly, constantly following the advancements of the project and examining the factors of hindrance to the achievement of the eight objectives. In general, many of the problems that the Millennium Development Goals project intends to confront are themes to which AJE has shown to be particularly attentive. Poverty and hunger (to be discussed in the First Committee - U.N. General Assembly) are subjects that AJE treats frequently, chiefly under an environmentalist light. Much emphasis is put on those inconsiderate energetic or agricultural policies implemented by the most developed countries that trigger or compound the curses of famine and malnutrition. A clear example of this kind of analysis is the criticism made by AJE - of the utilization of cereals for the production of biofuel (a practice that leads to waste of foodstuff and, even worse, causes spikes in the prices of food). Also the potential dangers entailed by the current pattern of intensive industrial agriculture have been exposed and criticized. AJE , oftentimes, has also zeroed in on the social phenomena related to hunger and increased food prices, like insecurity, conflicts and uprisings. The firsthand knowledge of the reasons that prompted the eruption of the Arab Spring has made AJE aware of the possible revolutionary consequences that the current food crisis might have. Education (to be discussed in the Fourth Committee- UNESCO) especially in connection with gender equality (i.e. equal access to primary education) has similarly been the matter of several AJEs stories. The most representative instance is the recently released documentary Shabeenas

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Quest, which recounts the feat of a Pakistani teacher that is struggling for providing education to both boys and girls. Pakistan and, more extensively, the Middle East, have been recurrently under AJEs spotlight with respect to this issue. Obviously, the topic of education is intertwined with the theme of poverty, unemployment and social unrests. On the other hand, AJEs discussion on gender issues (to be discussed in the Fifth CommitteeHuman Rights Council) is not limited to education: the question of the role of women in political institutions, corporations and international organizations has been addressed in many occasions. Furthermore, AJE has devoted an entire section of its website to maternal security (under the label Birthrights).

9) ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUNS AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY - PLENARY MEETING

MDG 1 - Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 1.A + 1.B - POVERTY ISSUE (REF. 2.A - SCHOOLING) HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN 1$ PER DAY FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 1.C HUNGER HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HUNGER

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HUNGER SOARS IN THE PHILIPPINES Number of undernourished Filipinos has grown by two million in two years, even as it drops in neighbouring countries.2 There has been a staggering increase in the number of undernourished Filipinos over the past two years, according to a new study. "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012," a global assessment of nutrition levels released on Tuesday, revealed that a total of 16 million Filipinos were considered undernourished from 2010 to present, even as the number of chronically undernourished people dropped in all other southeast Asian countries. There are more underfed people in the Philippines today than there were two decades ago, despite a growing economy. In contrast, other countries in the region saw the number of chronically hungry people plummet: Vietnam by 75.1 per cent, Thailand, by 79.8 per cent, Indonesia by 43.8 per cent, Laos by 9.2 per cent and Cambodia by 37.8 per cent. "These hunger statistics and the high joblessness numbers [2.8 million unemployed and 8.5 million underemployed] give a gloomier picture than the upbeat first semester GDP growth of 6.1 per cent. At the very least, they support the view that the first half economic growth was shallow and hollow," the Malaya Business Insight wrote in an editorial pieceon Tuesday. The report showed one out of every eight people in the world is chronically undernourished, and that progress to reduce hunger has slowed in recent years. Its closely watched global food price index rose 1.4 per cent in September after remaining stable in August, and is close to levels reached during the 2008 food crisis which led to riots in some poor countries. 'Last ditch effort' More than 30 ministers and deputy-ministers joined a meeting in Rome on Tuesday, set up by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), after grain prices shot to record highs this summer - the third price spike in four years - fuelled by drought in the US, Russia and other key producers.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/10/20121017112645190449.html

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Aid agency Oxfam said Tuesday's meeting was a "last ditch effort" and urged governments to reverse biofuel mandates, boost food reserves and commit to agricultural investments. "The daunting truth is that G20 countries have failed to call a Rapid Response Forum or to calm markets shaken by extreme weather events," Oxfam's Thierry Kesteloot said in a statement. UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter said that ministers at the meeting had avoided addressing subjects that were key to tackling high food prices and hunger. "There are many taboos which have not been discussed such as the diversion of crops to biofuel production. Nobody dares to evoke our consumption in rich countries, our taste for meat and the huge impact that has on markets," he said. "Far too little has been said about the question of power in the food system, and the need to empower small farmers and hold governments accountable. Hunger is not a technical issue, it is deeply political and we need to face that reality." BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY WITH SCHOOLING Fighting unemployment in Egypt by giving school drop-outs a second chance at education. http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/10/20121016105749831870.html FOOD RIOTS PREDICTED OVER US CROP FAILURE Analysts say crippling drought in the US likely to trigger unrest in impoverished nations dependent on food imports http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/20128218556871733.html LEARNING TO TACKLE MALNUTRITION: AFGHANISTAN'S SILENT CHILD KILLER Malnutrition is the underlying cause for one third of child mortality in Afghanistan http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/2012101192945904516.html DESIGNING FOOD SYSTEMS TO PROTECT NATURE AND GET RID OF HUNGER Industrialisation of agriculture creates hunger and malnutrition, destroying the food web to which we all belong http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/201295614181450.html BETTING THE FARM ON HUNGER Debate heats up whether financial speculation is spiking food prices and spelling disaster for millions of poor people http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/09/2012911125854157194.html THE UN TARGETS 2015 SUCCESS Increased effort required to meet the UN's Millenium Development Goals, expert says. Firas Al-Atraqchi in Stockholm http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/humanrightsun/2008/12/2008123151653805310.html AFRICA FACING INTENSIFIED 'FOOD CRISIS' New report suggests that numerous African and Middle East countries are at a high or extreme risk of a food crisis. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/10/20121010164439644845.html

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UN SECURITY COUNCIL
AGENDA TOPIC 1: CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICTS

UN DECRIES USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS IN CAR UNICEF urges rebels and pro-government groups to stop recruiting and using children in conflict.3 The United Nation's children agency has called on rebels and pro-government groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) to stop recruiting children to fight in the country's conflict that has seen armed opposition groups seize key towns. "Reliable sources have informed us that children are newly being recruited among their ranks," Souleymane Diabate, a UNICEF spokesperson in CAR, said in a statement on Friday.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/201314231056418553.html

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UNICEF condemned the involvement of boys and girls "who may be forced to fight, carry supplies, perform other support roles and be abused as sex slaves by armed groups". It said that even before the current conflict erupted last month, about 2,500 children were associated with multiple armed groups, including self-defence groups, in CAR. Shannon Strother, the UNICEF emergency coordinator in CAR, told Al Jazeera that the organisation fears that the country's new conflict has seen a rise in child soldiers. "What we have is a series of credible reports from multiple sites across the country that children are being armed forces, including in Bangui," she said. "Since 2007 we have been able to negotiate the release of 1,300 children, but we are concerned with this new conflict we will see a rise in children with armed groups." Widespread violence More than 300,000 children have been affected by the violence in the country and its consequences, including through recruitment, family separation, sexual violence, forced displacement and having no or limited access to education and health facilities, it said. "We are very concerned about children that might have possibly been displaced and separated from parents, but also we are concerned about children that are living on the streets and those that have been associated with those armed groups," Strother added. Meanwhile, the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) has also voiced serious concerns about the protection of civilians amid reports of widespread looting and violence. An estimated 316,000 people are living in the affected areas, and about 700,000 others in Bangui are at further risk of an escalation in fighting, it said in its latest situation report. The Seleka rebel coalition's lightning three-week advance from the north of the country to within striking distance of Bangui has raised fears of a spreading crisis and drawn regional calls for peace negotiations. CHILD SOLDIERS 'NO BAR' FOR US AID Obama administration decides to continue funding to Chad, Yemen, Sudan and DRC though they use children in armed forces. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2010/10/2010102992129404673.html MEETING MYANMAR'S FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS Teenagers continue to serve in both the state military and armed groups, despite new approach by country's leaders. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/07/201273165032436427.html MYANMAR'S FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS SPEAK OUT Three child soldiers and a former Myanmar Army battalion commander describe the treatment of under-age fighters. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/07/201273171937269780.html FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS LACK SUPPORT Two studies find child soldiers face a range of problems after leaving military. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2010/07/201071213841603942.html ATROCITIES HAUNT DRC CHILD SOLDIERS Recruitment rises as fighting between army and Rwandan Hutu rebels intensifies.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2009/10/2009102410921830912.html SECURITY COUNCIL STAKEOUT: AMBASSADOR WITTIG ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT, 19 SEPT 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubhMpIKAqnU DEBATE ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mDNijt_OT0 CHILDREN IN SYRIA LIBYA & MALI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va7gMt9cvbU

AGENDA TOPIC 2: RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLE

STRUGGLING TO SECURE INDIGENOUS RIGHTS As indigenous protests gain momentum, most governments fail to practice what they have committed to internationally.4 Today, August 9, is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The UN proclaimed it back in 1994 with announcement of the Decade for Indigenous Peoples. Since then, international instruments securing the rights of indigenous peoples have blossomed.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/20128810421383560.html

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International treaties have validated claims to self-determination and emphasised the role of collective rights in contemporary politics, for example, by insisting on the observance of prior and informed consent in planning and constructing huge dams and oil exploration projects. Yet as indigenous protests gain momentum, governments around the world consistently fail to practice what they have committed to internationally. Conflicts over the extraction of natural resources on indigenous lands have expanded to the Arctic, while clashes between governments and social movements have escalated into a declared state of emergency in Peru. Is the gap between international law and political practice explained by the normal problems of implementation? Or is there a deeper, structural impediment to the full realization of indigenous legal rights? Any celebration of indigenous peoples calls for serious debates on what is systematically obstructing their rights in practice. Consolidating international law The first international treaty to endorse the rights of indigenous peoples was the one that gave rise to contemporary ethno-politics. When the International Labour Organisation (ILO) passed Convention 169 in 1989, it established indigenous rights to self-determination. The convention not only recognised collective rights, such as rights to culture and autonomous governance, but also established prior and informed consent, requiring indigenous participation in political decision-making that impacts their communities and territories. The ILO Convention provided legitimacy to national and local struggles that had been in the making for decades in Mesoamerica and the Andes. In Ecuador, social movements evolved into formal politics, giving rise to the indigenous political party, Pachakutik, that has played a central role in the making and unmaking of governments. ILO Convention 169 also marked the prelude to two decades of consolidating international legislation on the rights of indigenous peoples at the United Nations. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was a latecomer in many respects. Finally passed in 2007, it was the longest debated human rights instrument in UN history. Granted, UN processes are slow. Still. It took two UN Decades for member states to reach an agreement on the political status of indigenous rights. After the First International Decade of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004) failed to resolve contention over self-determination, the General Assembly had to expand the timeframe with a second UN Decade (2005-2015) under the theme "A Decade for Action and Dignity". The controversy focused primarily on the practice of indigenous autonomy - and its implications for state sovereignty. Most member-states reacted to Article 46 insisting that the declaration not be interpreted in any way that could impair the territorial sovereignty of states. Four governments voted against the declaration (Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US) out of opposition to the majority's interpretations of sovereignty. The Obama administration has recently revised its stand to recognize the UNDRIP. This has permitted the UN to conduct its first independent inquiry into the human rights of almost three million US Native-Americans. The UN Declaration is undoubtedly a milestone in international law. It gave universal legitimacy to norms of self-determination, normalised collective rights in international law and strengthened indigenous struggles around the world. It also crystallised some challenges facing the application of international law for indigenous peoples, who may be protected by global treaties by are located within the national borders of states.

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As positive as the incorporation of collective rights into international law may seem, their full implementation requires complex systems of authority distinct from the conventional practices of state sovereignty. The limits of collective rights Collective rights are undeniably a major achievement for indigenous peoples worldwide. Yet they encompass significant limits, both in terms of implementation and of their conceptual implications. First, rights are easier said than done. Governments preach indigenous rights, yet often silence dissident voices. The declaration of a state of emergency by the Peruvian government to stop indigenous protests against mega-mining in Cajamarca is only one recent example of the double discourse that subverts indigenous collective rights around the world. Second, the implementation problem is tangled up in a larger conceptual conundrum. Collective rights are limited by the recurrent tutelage of the sovereign state. Indigenous peoples gained collective rights to land, but their land still belongs to the sovereign state. They are granted access to the land rather than given property rights over it. Indigenous communities may live and hunt and administer justice on their land, but the land remains under the ultimate authority of the state. In the Amazon, for instance, indigenous communities have no right to sell their territories or to exploit underground resources. It is the state that owns, and sells, oil. In a way, collective rights grant indigenous peoples unrestricted access to ancestral territories without giving property rights over the land in the larger sense of the word. This inconsistency echoes the lasting debate on the autonomy of Native-American peoples in the US, who were given sovereignty but are forbidden to practice international affairs. Collective rights are predicated on the idea that native populations lack faculty to constitute - or manage - private property. It's not only that those who are not given the faculty to establish property are considered culturally backwards. The faculty to establish property defines political power. In that sense, collective rights are at once emancipatory and obstructive, poisoned and subverted by the persistent tutelage of the state and unmasking the narrow limits of indigenous rights to citizenship. This very aspect of indigenous collective rights explains why prior consent is bypassed with recurrent impunity. The politics of property rights The constitution of space is central to the practice of political authority. That is why the establishment of property is a legitimate function of the state - even if the practices underlying property are frequently coercive, illegitimate and extra-judicial in nature. That is also why indigenous peoples insist on having authority over their own territories. The expansion of international law recognising the collective rights of indigenous peoples inevitably clashes with the sovereign practices of governments. In fact, it's hard for states to fully recognise the rights of the peoples it has always relegated to outsider status. Indigenous peoples were not only written out of history and framed as uncivilised, but were also kept out of the system of property. This was the very foundation of the modern nation-state, which claimed native lands as empty political spaces that were thrown up for grabs through the doctrine of discovery. It is because there was no concept of indigenous property that the modern state imposed its political authority over native territories. Indigenous assertions of land rights were always

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challenges to states that had been forged on conquest, a fundamental tension only accentuated by recent innovations in international law. This is why numerous governments are beginning to reject international systems of justice that defend indigenous collective rights, notably the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. As it holds states accountable to indigenous rights, the Inter-American Court validates the claims of peoples traditionally cast as illegitimate outsiders whose authority precedes that of the modern nationstate. International law that confirms collective indigenous rights to clean water and autonomous territories threatens much more than mega-projects for resource extraction. These laws also destabilise the very political foundations of state sovereignty. The collective rights of indigenous peoples are so difficult to implement because they imply a redistribution of state authority. They invite alternative models of authority, non-traditional ways of practicing politics. In a way, indigenous collective rights demand a total revamping of state sovereignty as we know it. It's always hard to navigate unchartered waters, but with the right blend of political will and creativity, it can be done. VIRTUAL STATEHOOD OR THE RIGHT OF RETURN Many Palestinians feel the newest version of the bid for statehood no longer represents them and their interests. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/09/201191394042383843.html THE RIGHTS OF ISRAEL Israel's "lawfare" against the Palestinian people is rooted in a ficticious narrative of having a "right" to exist. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/05/20115684218533873.html UN VOTES TO UPGRADE PALESTINIAN STATUS Overwhelming majority of states vote to give Palestinians non-member observer status, despite Israeli criticism. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/20121128142545792986.html THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE ARE STILL WAITING FOR JUSTICE On Human Rights Day, it's important to highlight that 64 years on, Palestinians are still waiting for justice. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/20121210122110931755.html SHOULD THE US SUPPORT AN INDEPENDENT BALOCHISTAN? A handful of US congressmen support creating an independent Balochistan, carved out of mostly Pakistani land. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/02/201222112203196390.html WESTERN SAHARA AND THE SELF-DETERMINATION DEBATE http://www.meforum.org/2400/western-sahara-self-determination SYRIAN STRIFE SOURS STUDENTS' DREAMS

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Language barrier has forced many youngsters to discontinue studies after they fled to Lebanon to escape violence. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/10/2012109132318378506.html THE FIGHT FOR EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN'S SWAT Students vow to continue their education, calling attack on Malala Yousafzai part of the Taliban's war against schools. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/10/2012101516347715708.html AN EDUCATION IN INEQUALITY The school dropout rate for Palestinian-Israelis is almost double that of their Jewish counterparts http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2010/10/2010101391321270946.html THE FINE PRINT OF PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD What does the UN fine print - which promoted Palestine as a non-member observer state - really mean? http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/201212312551221368.html

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO

MDG 6 - Combat HIV/Aids, Malaria and other diseases AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 6.A + 6.B HAVE HALTED THE INCIDENCE OF HIV BY 2015 UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV

AIDS 'COULD BE ELIMINATED IN OUR LIFETIME'

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HIV treatment as prevention strategy considered a "game changer" but lack of funding prevents implementation.5 When Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, Director of the Louis Pasteur Institute in France and winner of the Nobel Prize in 2008 for her discovery of HIV, first isolated the HIV virus in 1982, she had no idea she had stumbled onto the greatest epidemic of our time. "Initially, we thought only a small group of people were affected by the disease," Barre-Sinoussi told Al Jazeera. "Very naively, we did not realise the magnitude of the epidemic." She was right to be wary. Since then, 60 million people have been infected with HIV and over 30 million have died, akin to half the population of the United Kingdom. But Barre-Sinoussi was not easily disheartened. "I believe in science. If not now, in the long term, we will find other strategies. My dream is to see the end of HIV before I die." Her belief was not unfounded. The dawn of 2012 brought with it the hope of a new breakthrough published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011: life-saving anti-retroviral treatment (ARV), the gold standard for treatment of HIV/AIDS will also prevent transmission of HIV to sexual partners with 96 per cent effectiveness. These "serodiscordant couples", as they are known, make up 30 per cent of the global HIV burden. This research is considered a game changer. Such high success rates are almost unheard of in scientific literature, so much so that the trial, known as HPTN 052, was concluded prematurely. "It is a dream for us to have a treatment with the capacity to cure. It means we can use the tools that we already have at our disposal," Barre-Sinoussi told Al Jazeera. Treatment as prevention The treatment as prevention strategy (TasP) has been described by Science magazine as the biggest discovery of 2011, a sentiment echoed by the Time, Lancet and Doctors without Borders. Experts in the field argue it may be the scientific breakthrough of the decade. "TasP is a beautiful discovery," Elly Katibara, President of the International AIDS Society, told Al Jazeera. "In the process of treating people, you are doing two jobs." Breakthrough in the fight against HIV In 2005, the Universal Access Pledge was made by every UN member state to provide universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for all who need it by 2010. The goal was simple but ambitious: zero new transmissions by the year 2015. Though no "silver bullet" existed for the eradication of this disease, nations were committed to the available treatment and prevention strategies, with the hopes that investment in research would one day yield something more effective. That time has arrived. Dr Julio Montaner, Director of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Canada and former President of the International AIDS Society, has pioneered research in TasP since the mid-90s. "We have the opportunity here to change the course of history," Montaner, told Al Jazeera. "It is within our grasp to see an HIV-free generation in our lifetime."

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/03/2012329135644720577.html

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HIV or the human immunodeficiency virus, is a sexually transmitted disease that impairs cells in the immune system, known as CD4 cells, leaving the body unable to fight infection. The transition to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS occurs when the decline in CD4 cells leaves the body vulnerable to "opportunistic infections", infections a normal immune system could fight off. In 1996, 10m people were affected. Despite calls by scientists to provide funds to fight the disease, nations did not act and the epidemic grew exponentially. Sixteen years later, 34m people are now living with HIV; two-thirds reside in sub-Saharan Africa and more than half are women and children. The fight against HIV has cost billions of dollars and almost $1tn in treatment for AIDS related illnesses, lost productivity and other socioeconomic consequences. "Treatment as prevention has become the centrepiece of the international AIDS movement," said Stephen Lewis, a well-known philanthropist and activist who previously served as a United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. "Everyone has been persuaded." The world took notice; after results of the study were released, UNAIDS set a goal of treating 15 million people by the year 2015. The first study to look at the real life applicability of TasP in the global south was published in in March 2012 and the results are promising. Funding shortfall Talk is cheap, but intervention is not. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the largest financier in the struggle against HIV, relies primarily on financing from the international community. Funding shortfalls totaling $20bn in 2012, due to G8 countries reneging on previous financial commitments, have forced The Global Fund to freeze financing of existing HIV treatment programmes and decline all new programme requests for 2012. This includes the implementation of TasP. Number of AIDS cases remains high On March 27, 2012, Doctors Without Borders released a report outlining the effects of this Global Fund deficit. "The hit is being felt most acutely by the countries who can least afford it," Dr Isabelle MeyerAndrieux, HIV Medical Adviser for Doctors Without Borders, told Al Jazeera. An estimated one million people are living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a result of the cuts, the DRC has had to close the doors on its pediatric HIV wards. "Programmes are losing confidence in future funding and instead of scaling up treatment initiatives based on recent advances, they are scaling back," Meyer-Andrieux said. According to UNAIDS, the $20bn invested into the fund would prevent 12.2 million new HIV infections and 7.4 million HIV related deaths between 2011 and 2020. Twenty billion seems a large sum, but to put this in perspective, the US alone spends $1.9bn daily on defence, according to the economist Jeffrey Sachs. "It's completely short-sighted," Lewis told Al Jazeera. "Financing is always available for war and the things that do nothing to improve the human condition, but never for things like global public health." Dr Bernhard Schwartlnder, Director for Evidence, Strategy and Results at UNAIDS told Al Jazeera that the international community needs "to get away from the cost argument and think of long term investment".

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Politics behind policy change Lack of funding is not the only obstacle. There is disagreement over when treatment should begin. The clinical stage of HIV is determined by the level of CD4 immune cells in the body, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines recommend treatment at a CD4 count of less than 350. If 100 per cent of these patients are treated, it will prevent 20 per cent of transmissions. "With this goal, we are looking at controlling the epidemic, not eliminating, it," said Schwartlnder. These guidelines are different from North America and developed countries, where treatment is initiated earlier, at a CD4 count of 500. "Eighty per cent of these patients with a CD4 500 will be CD4 350 in 3-5 years and need treatment anyways," said Montaner. "If we treat earlier, we not only prevent illness, but also prevent transmission during this time." So why is one treatment level OK in the rich world, while a lower standard is acceptable for the poor? Dr Ying-Ru Lo with the Department of HIV/AIDS at the WHO sheds some light. "For many low and middle income countries, the WHO guidelines take cost and readiness of the systems into account." The reality for patients is that they are being turned away for "not being sick enough" and up to 25 per cent of them will not return for testing. "Many friends of mine were not eligible for the treatment and either did not return later to be tested, came back in wheelchairs, or came back too late with already concurrent illnesses," Kenly Sikwese, am HIV positive patient in Lusaka, Zambia, told Al Jazeera. Dr Myron Cohen, lead author of the groundbreaking New England Journal of Medicine study, says the treatment needs "public health plausibility" in order to "become a reality". "We have to find everyone and get them on treatment this is what the study required," he said. But access to testing and treatment is easier said than done, especially in rural areas of subSaharan Africa. "In order to treat, we need to expand testing," Schwartlnder told Al Jazeera. "It is one thing to treat in Vancouver, but when you take this treatment into the middle of Tanzania where there is hardly water and electricity, it becomes more difficult." Montaner doesn't buy this. "It's about funding again. In these same remote areas, you see people drinking Coca-Cola because of their successful, widespread marketing campaign." If soda companies can penetrate these regions, he said, health experts can easily do the same. Moving forward With the evidence for TasP ushering in a new era in the fight against HIV/AIDS, 2012 opened with a bang. But as March comes to a close and headlines fade, what's changed? The funding shortage for the new treatment could mean the difference between life and death. The good news: With dedicated prevention policies, including education, efforts at preventing vertical transmission, male circumcision and treatment, the United Nations announced at the end of 2011 that the epidemic has reached its lowest rates since its peak and over seven million people are on anti-retroviral drugs. Deaths from AIDS-related illnesses decreased by 21 per cent since 2005 and new HIV infections were reduced by 21 per cent since 1997. Today, more people than ever are receiving treatment, with 6.6 million people on ARV in 2010, an increase of 1.35 million from the previous year.

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The bad news: The funding shortages will undermine much of the work that has been done to date. Montaner recognises the reality of the situation. "At the very least, we should be aiming for 100 per cent coverage for those with a CD4 less than 350, HIV positive mothers to prevent vertical transmission and HIV positive patients in serodiscordant couples." Botswana has already implemented TasP, with 80 per cent of HIV patients on treatment, decreasing the rates of transmission by 30 per cent. Even China sees the wisdom of acting earlier, implementing a national treatment as prevention initiative aimed at controlling AIDS by 2015. To this end, over 67 million HIV tests have been conducted in 2011. 2012 may be not the year the international community eliminates HIV, but health experts say it could still be the year where the tide is turned. "We have a 10-year window of opportunity to control this epidemic before we get to a point where there will be very little we can do," Montaner told Al Jazeera. "And the longer we delay, the more millions of lives will be lost unnecessarily. This is completely unacceptable. What is the point of having a breakthrough of this nature if it will not be implemented?" KENYA FACES SHORTAGE OF CONDOMS A shortage of condoms is hampering Kenya's fight against sexually transmitted diseases http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2011/04/201142391517178732.html QATAR MAKING PROGRESS FIGHTING AIDS 'TABOO' While the Gulf has worked to improve treatment of people suffering from HIV/AIDS, critics say much more work is needed. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/12/201212512472404332.html NEOLIBERAL PLAGUE: AIDS AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM Battling AIDS means challenging the power of rich nations over the world's resources http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/201212685521152438.html NEW VACCINE COULD HELP END MALARIA The tropical disease kills more people annually than cancer, but researchers think they can win the fight. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/01/2012110203753694879.html UGANDAN MALARIA ATTRIBUTED TO GLOBAL WARMING Uganda's malaria experts believe steady flow of malaria patients is due to global warming http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2012/12/2012121111349719625.html WHO APPROVES NEW MALARIA TREATMENT A new treatment for malaria, one of the world's biggest killers, consists of a combination of drugs in one tablet. http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia/2012/10/201210384949799349.html ANTI-POLIO WORKERS GUNNED DOWN IN PAKISTAN At least six workers for government campaign to eradicate disease killed in separate attacks in Karachi and Peshawar

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/12/20121218112425185915.html

AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.E IN COOPERATION WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL DRUGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

PROVIDE

ACCESS

TO

THE GREAT BILLION DOLLAR DRUG SCAM: PART TWO The pharmaceutical industry uses dirty tricks to maximise profits at any cost, hurting sick people and taxpayers.6 This is the second of a two-part series examining the methods by which multinational drug corporations inflate their expenses and justify their pricing strategies. The first part revealed how, far from costing the reported (and widely accepted) $1bn to bring a drug to market, actual costs may be less than a fifth of that, thanks to accounting tactics and corporate tax breaks. Of course, the US government is very conscious of moves designed to "avoid" taxation. But little effective action has been taken to tighten the tax net. In 2005, Congress extended a"tax holiday" to pharmaceutical corporations, allowing companies to repatriate hidden profits at just 5.2 per cent of the corporate tax rate. At the time, Pfizer had untaxed profits at $38bn; Merck $18bn; Johnson & Johnson $14.8bn - at least, those were the profits they were willing to declare. Generally, a considerable portion (upwards of 12 per cent) of big pharma's research and development (R&D) costs is Phase IV or "post-marketing" trials of drugs already commercially sold to consumers, in an attempt to expand sales. The figure was estimated at 75 per cent of R&D costs by the Tufts Center, said Harvard Medical School's Marcia Angell. "Since the majority of Phase IV studies will never be submitted to the FDA, they may be totally unregulated. Few of them are published. In fact, like all industry-sponsored trials, they are not likely to be published at all unless they show something favourable to the sponsor's drug. If they are published, it is often in marginal journals, because the quality of the research is so poor," she said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/06/201162994039172374.html

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Innovations and free-rides Ironically, the Tufts Center study by Joe DiMasi et al, which estimated the price of bringing a new drug to market to be more than $800m, drastically skewed R&D costs by basing analysis not on the general state of approved drugs but instead on "self-originating NCEs" or "New Molecular Entities (NMEs)" which comprise only a small portion of drugs approved annually by the FDA estimated at 35 per cent (1990-2000) - a figure that has since decreased in the past decade. Pharmaceutical "innovation" is determined by two crucial factors: a) the creation of a "new molecular entity"(NME) - which in itself may or may not be useful for treatment but which signifies the introduction of a new, distinct molecular form, and b) an NME that constitutes a"priority drug": ie: a drug that offers, in the words of the FDA,"a major advance in treatment or which provides treatment where no adequate therapy exists" - in short, a therapeutic advance for serious illnesses. Under the 1992 Prescription Drug User Act, the FDA operates via a two-tiered system of review: Standard Review (S) applied to drugs that offer only minor improvements over existing marketed drugs, and Priority Review (P), a fast-track - a six month process since 2003 - pretty speedy for any company who wants to drive through "innovation". Though the two comprise separate categories, by blurring the definitions, pharmaceutical companies are often able to misrepresent NMEs, with"innovations" justifying the high costs of patents ie: exclusive government-approved marketing rights. From 2006- 2009, just 48 drug innovations (P+ NME) were approved by the FDA, while an average of 84 per cent of research funding comes from US taxpayer sources, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Light and Warburton conclude that "the net corporate investment in research to discover important new drugs is about 1.2 per cent of sales, not 17-19 per cent". So, while drug companies claim that the EU has suffered from a lack of innovation, trailing behind US R&D expenditure by 15 per cent in 2004, little of this figure corresponds to reality. Easy "free-riding" of the US public funds and R&D is the primary reason why drug companies have flocked to the US. Just a quarter of NMEs are estimated by specialists as being actually developed by drug companies, instead, most are licensed from government/public-financed labs such as the NIH and universities - as well as smaller companies. Acts and licensing In 2002, then-CEO of GSK Bob Ingram spoke to the Wall Street Journal on the subject of licensing: "We're not going to put our money in-house if there's a better investment vehicle outside." Ingram pointed out that GSK was eager to reach the levels of other companies, such as Merck, which received 35 per cent of its revenue from licensing. The cost differential between a licensed NME and one developed in-house is vast: a licensed NME costs just 10 per cent of actual R&D expenditure (2000) in contrast to an in-house developed NME at 74 per cent. In 2000, just 13 per cent of approved NMEs were developed in-house - a figure that has not drastically changed. The system of licensing came about via the Bayh-Dole Act - named after Senators Birch Bayh (DInd) and Robert Dole (R-Kans) - designed to enable universities and small businesses to patent discoveries that came about from NIH-financed research (the primary distributors of taxpayer funds for medical research) - thereafter granting the patents to pharmaceutical corporations in exchange for royalties. The Act did articulate taxpayer protection rights concerning non-exclusive licences - if the action "is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs which are not reasonably satisfied", or the action "is necessary to meet public uses".

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But Ronald Reagan's 1983 Executive Memo changed tack, liberalising access to include coverage for large corporations. Prior to this, publicly financed discoveries were considered knowledge in the public domain. One further piece of legislation - the Stevenson-Wydler Act - removed the barriers between"publicly funded" systems (mainly the government but also universities) and the private sector. Weighing the costs In short, depending on whether or not the NMEs were developed in-house, estimates by Light and Warburton - in addition to other specialists, such as Angell - reveal the costs of R&D as more along the lines of $50m - $200m. So much for the $1bn pill - but what of the costs of development for the Rotavirus vaccine? Vaccines are often priced 40 - 100 times more than the cost of production. Drug companies claim that pharmaceutical research is very expensive and that R&D costs are extremely high. Unfortunately for GSK, the usual 5,000 or 6,000 clinical trial "subjects" - people involved in Phase III trials - drastically escalated to around 63,000 to 68,000 people - in order to rule out a perceived fatal side effect (intussusception) that forced Rotashield off the market some years earlier. Prior to the massive Phase III trial, the costs of GSK's trials ranged from $1.8 million to $2.4 million, stated Light et al. Unlike Merck, GSK conducted many trials in developing countries, drastically lowering the potential costs. But even estimating at the higher range, the total costs for GSK's Phase I - Phase III trials reached between $128m and $192m - for all 63,000-plus people. Few of the clinical trials conducted in developing nations are investigated by the FDA. A 2008 Pfizer presentation [PDF]showed just 45 of 6,485 (0.7 per cent) of foreign trials were scrutinised. In 2008, more than 76 per cent of the people used for clinical drug trials were foreign "subjects" some 232,532 people. The cheapened value of poorer peoples - including better "value for physician" must not be underestimated. One report, dated 2000, by the inspector general of the US Department of Health and Human Services, disclosed that physicians in the US were paid $10,000 per patient enrolled for a drug trial - plus a further $30,000 on enrolment of the sixth patient. Costs, no doubt, included as "research and development". Aside from"cheapness", in developing countries there exists far less regulation, oversight and awareness; and the poor are unlikely to litigate if and when damage/deaths occur as a consequence of the drug. This is particularly lethal when it comes to experimentation on children. More than 78 per cent of children-focused clinical trials were conducted outside of the US. Vaccines and identification The Rotarix vaccine was not developed in-house but was licensed in: In 1988, Richard Ward PhD isolated the human rotavirus strain and developed a live, orally deliverable vaccine candidate under a licensing agreement with the Virus Research Institute, which later merged with another company, to become Avant Immunotherapeutics, a small firm that has often received grants from the NIH. As Donald Light, a professor of comparative health policy, and economist Rebecca Warburton revealed in their paper analysing the development cost of the rotavirus vaccine, Avant funded a Phase II trial of Rotarix in 1997-1998 which found the drug gave protection in 89 per cent of cases. Light et al go on to write that, in 1997, GlaxoWellcome (later GSK) negotiated global rights and agreed, in exchange, to finance development costs, paid Avant $5.5 million and agreed royalties of 10 per cent on net sales.

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The rotavirus vaccine signified a radical turning point in the introduction of vaccines: usually, poorer nations wait out a 15 or 20 year period. GSK's rotavirus vaccination instead proceeded via regulatory approval not in the country of manufacture, but instead, the country of first intended use - Mexico. Why not Africa or Asia? Mexico proved the perfect site for introduction: since the 1990s, the government created, expanded and strengthened a "national surveillance system" for diarrhoeal disease, noted Walsh and Situ. Hospitals and clinics had well-equipped laboratories to identify infectious diseases; the Ministry of Health regularly monitored and reported cases, as did the clinics and hospitals, as part of the Mexican Social Security Institute (MSSI) system. Since 2004, the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), comprising more than forty nations of the Americas, supported - along with other organisations - the development of rotavirus surveillance systems in countries including Argentina, El Salvador, Guyana, Uruguay, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Honduras. Monitoring was engineered to"characterise the proportion of diarrhoeal hospitalisations attributable to a rotavirus infection, serotypes of circulating rotaviruses, and the seasonality of rotavirus infections", writes Julia Walsh MD in The critical path for vaccine introduction[PDF]. This information is fed into economic analyses, a critical element in the countries' decision on whether to introduce a vaccine. The good news, for GSK, about Mexico and Brazil, is that the percentage of population targeted to be vaccinated is more than 98 per cent. In 2006, Duncan Steele from the Initiative for Vaccine Research (WHO) stated that the Rotarix vaccine was being introduced to Brazil, Panama, Venezuela and other countries - at a cost of $7 per dose for public health use. In 2004, Brazil purchased eight million doses (two doses per child), at the full $7 per dose. Ward would later say that rotavirus hospitalisations were estimated to be down by 59 per cent. Efficient manufacturing? Presently, unless Merck makes an entry into the international marketplace, there exists no competition for GSK which already describes itself as,"the main supplier of vaccines to UNICEF and GAVI". According to GSK, PAHO and other aid agencies intend to purchase enough Rotarix to ensure immunisation for 80 per cent of the world's children. Avant estimates that the global market for the drug will generate as much as $1.8bn annually. Neither GSK nor Merck have published a summary of their costs. Light and Warburton estimate that the cost of Rotarix - due to the incredibly large expense of the almost 70,000-person trial is as high $466 million, excluding capitalised costs - and that out-ofpocket costs could be recovered with a single year's profit. From 2008 onward, sales totalled more than $1bn. At "efficient" manufacturing costs of $1.50-$2 per dose, GSK will make a jolly profit from the "full price" in developed nations, and the 98 per cent successful vaccination target rate in countries such as Brazil. Once the five-year period is up, GSK - holding the global monopoly, will be embedded as part of the national health budget in 40 or more countries. GSK's home country - the UK - donated the largest chunk of taxpayer funds to the AMC pot - at $1.34bn, while IP king Bill Gates offered a further $1bn. Gates claimed that he felt "great about the prices" GAVI received but acknowledged that Indian and Chinese manufacturers could bring the price down"somewhat" if they ramped up vaccine output. No matter that drug companies like GSK actually sat on the GAVI board at the time such decisions were made.

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Developed nations banging the trade-related intellectual property drum, and intellectual property captains such as Bill Gates, will not bypass the anti-competitive grip of patents - for which there exists no free market, and where all patent value is opaquely imputed by the company in question. This is the flipside of "charity", this is a calculated attempt to sustain the status quo - a world structured on inequality, where the gap between those with access to medicine, and those without, is not only undeserved and systemically unjust - but also lethal. To paraphrase brilliant comedian Chris Rock, drug companies - or drug dealers, as he put it, don't want to cure you (or kill you). The money comes from making you live in need. THE GREAT BILLION DOLLAR DRUG SCAM Part one of a two-part series examining methods used by multinational drug corporations to control markets - and lives. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/06/20116297573191484.html AL JAZEERA: EU DEAL THREATENS HIV DRUG SUPPLIES http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug/archive/201011/msg00017.php BRAZIL TO BREAK AIDS DRUGS PATENTS Brazil will break patents on some foreign Aids drugs next year to escape the control of multinational firms holding developing countries hostage, the government has said. http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2004/12/20084916393363157.html US CLOSE TO WTO GENERICS DEAL A number of World Trade Organisation members are close to securing a deal to ease the supply of essential medicines to poor countries, removing one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the Doha world trade round. http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2003/08/2008410114247689208.html NEOLIBERAL PLAGUE: AIDS AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM Battling AIDS means challenging the power of rich nations over the world's resources, argues Hickel http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/201212685521152438.html ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL MEDICINES http://www.who.int/medicines/mdg/MDG08ChapterEMedsEn.pdf ACCESS INDICATORS DEVELOPED BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ARE AVAILABLE FROM: http://www.un.org/esa/policy/mdggap/appendix.pdf ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL MEDICINES http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/mdg_gap/mdg_gap2011/mdggap_matrix_ess medicines_2011.pdf PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY NEGLECTS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

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http://article.wn.com/view/2012/10/26/Pharmaceutical_industry_neglects_developing_countri es/

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UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION - UNESCO

AND

CULTURAL

AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 2.A MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION ENSURE THAT, BY 2015, CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE, WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE A FULL COURSE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING

SPAIN'S AUSTERITY MEASURES WILL LEAVE CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL By the end of 2016, Spain plans to cut back its aid to 29 of the 50 countries that it currently supports.7 The latest Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work, asked whether aid to education had reached its peak. Recent news from Spain suggests that the reality could be even worse - that aid to education could be sliding backwards. This news could not come at a worse time: we have also recently reported that progress towards the six internationally-agreed education goals is stagnating with 61 million children out of school, just at a time when a final push is needed to achieve the goals by 2015. According to the European NGO, Concord, the Spanish government will be cutting 300 million euros from next year's budget. This will sink Spain's overseas development assistance (ODA) to its 1981 levels. What is understandable is that the country cannot escape from the need to implement austerity measures with a sharp economic downturn snapping at its heels. What is less understandable is that it is not looking at the most effective way to spend its remaining funds, and the cuts risk hurting those the most in need. The cuts are affecting the country's aid budget more than other sectors within the country, moving it even further away from the international commitment of DAC donors spending 0.7 per cent of GNI. The recent announcement of reductions in aid from 2013-2016 is on top of Spain's reduction in its ODA budget between 2010 and 2011 which was already far bigger than other OECD-DAC donors. The cut between 2010 and 2011 resulted in it dropping its overall aid from 0.43 per cent of its GNI

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to just 0.29 per cent. There are very real implications of Spain's planned cuts for 2013-16 for the future of children and young people in some of the poorest countries in the world. Having previously been in the top 10 biggest donors to both basic education and education overall, we estimate the cuts will push Spain down to 16th and 17th place respectively between 2010 and 2013, assuming other donors maintain their commitments at the current level. We estimate that its aid to basic education will be reduced almost three-fold between 2008 and 2013, from $246m in 2008 to just $94m in 2013. In recent years, Spain has also begun to play a greater role in the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) which plays a vital role in supporting education in low income countries. But its aid cuts appear to be having a strong impact on its support. Over the period 2004-2010, Spain made contributions equivalent to 16 per cent of the GPE education fund. Their pledge for 2011-2014, however, has been significantly reduced, leaving them contributing just 2 per cent of the GPE education fund. This will leave Spain playing a minor part in the GPE, having been the third biggest donor, after the Netherlands and the UK. It is not only about the amount of aid that Spain will be giving, but also the countries that this aid is targeted to reach. By the end of 2016, reports suggest that Spain plans to cut back its aid to 29 of the 50 countries that it currently supports. Seven low income countries that are most in need are amongst these: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea. The Global Monitoring Report team identifies the impact that these cuts would have on these seven low-income countries in terms of the number of school children whose primary school education was being paid for by their aid. We find that the reduction in aid could mean that around 97,000 children will no longer have the chance to go to school thanks to Spain's support. To take one example, Spain spends US $5.1m on basic education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This would have had the potential to fund the education of 83,015 primary school children in the country. Of the 21 countries that have survived Spain's cuts, only around a quarter are low income. While Spain plans to cut its aid to Bangladesh, for example, where there are millions of children out of school due to poverty, is is planning to continue giving aid to a high income country, Equatorial Guinea, where there are only 43,000 children out of school. It is vital that aid donors keep to their promises that no country will be left behind in achieving education goals due to lack of resources, ensuring that they protect the poorest countries from the impact of austerity measures as much as possible. SHABEENA'S QUEST In some parts of Pakistan getting an education is an act of defiance, but one woman is opening her school to all. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/11/2012112612156945376.html SOUTH SUDAN BATTLES LOW LITERACY RATE Reopening of main university means young nation will benefit from a new generation of graduates. http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2012/10/2012104194550362836.html BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY WITH SCHOOLING Fighting unemployment in Egypt by giving school drop-outs a second chance at education. www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/10/20121016105749831870.html

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SYRIAN CHILDREN STRUGGLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL Neighbouring countries offer help as UN says more than 2,000 schools damaged or destroyed in conflict. http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/09/201291718475145113.html EVEN BEFORE THE TALIBAN RULED AFGHANISTAN, FEW WOMEN IN PASHTUN ZARGHUN RECEIVED SCHOOLING - NOW, ALL THAT IS CHANGING. www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/07/2012713113420846534.html PAKISTAN MARKS 'MALALA DAY' WITH SCHOOL AID Programme provides stipends for three million poor children in honour of teenage activist wounded by Taliban. www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/11/20121110535489628.html ZAMBIAN CHILDREN LEARN BY RADIO The children have trekked through mud and overgrown grass to sit under a guava tree and be taught by a radio. www.aljazeera.com/archive/2006/03/2008410162810752657.html AN EDUCATION IN CONFLICT In conflict-affected states, children are being left behind by state and private schooling networks. www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2010/12/20101213133518463670.html MOBILE SCHOOL HELPS MUMBAI HOMELESS Al Jazeera follows Rehana, a child living with her family on the streets of Mumbai. www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2009/12/20091224103119401557.html UN: GIRLS' EDUCATION A GLOBAL EMERGENCY The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said, the fact that 65 million girls receive no schooling was a serious global emergency holding up economic development and leaving the girls themselves open to exploitation and a life of poverty. www.aljazeera.com/archive/2003/12/2008410135617282258.html

AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGET 8.F IN COOPERATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, MAKE AVAILABLE BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

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INTERNET FREEDOM TOPS DUBAI SUMMIT AGENDA Government regulators set to debate amid divisions on how best to govern the internet at UN agency-hosted conference.8 An unprecedented debate over how the global internet is governed is set to dominate a meeting of officials in Dubai, with many countries pushing to give a UN body broad regulatory powers even as the US and others contend such a move could mean the end of the "open internet". The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an agency of the UN responsible for international information and communication technologies regulations, will host the 12-day conference that begins on Monday. Government regulators from 193 countries will meet to revise a wide-ranging communications treaty for the first time since 1988. The treaty regulates how telephone and other telecommunications traffic is exchanged internationally. The conference largely pits revenue-seeking developing countries and authoritarian governments that want more control over internet content against US policymakers and private net companies that prefer the status quo. Thomas Crampton, a social media analyst, told Al Jazeera that much is at stake in the negotiations. "The ITU obviously did a tremendous job in building up the internet to where we are today, but this is the kind of thing where you can never take it for granted, and we must listen very carefully to those raising concerns about censorship," he said. "The general consensus that comes out of this meeting will have a very big impact on the internet going forward... and could project forward a very sharp shift in the direction that free expression, and the way in which the internet can support that going forward." Many of the proposals have drawn anger from free-speech and human-rights advocates and have prompted resolutions from the US congress and the EU, calling for the current decentralised system of governance to remain in place. 'Light-touch' regulation

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Fundamentally, most of the 193 countries in the ITU seem eager to enshrine the idea that the UN agency, rather than today's selection of private companies and non-profit groups, should govern the internet. They say that a new regime is needed to deal with the surge in cybercrime and more recent military attacks. The ITU meeting will also tackle other topics such as extending wireless coverage into rural areas. If a majority of the ITU countries approve UN dominion over the internet along with difficult rules, a backlash could lead to battles in Western countries over whether to ratify the treaty, with tech companies rallying ordinary internet users against it and some telecom carriers supporting it. In fact, dozens of countries including China, Russia and some Arab states, already restrict internet access within their own borders. Those governments would have greater leverage over internet content and service providers if the changes were backed up by international agreement. EU member states, however, are preparing to fight as a bloc alongside the US to prevent a move by Russia and countries in Africa to impose a levy on internet traffic and make it easier to track users' activities. The ITU's senior official, Secretary-General Hamadoun Tour, sought to downplay the concerns, stressing to the Reuters news agency that even though updates to the treaty could be approved by a simple majority, in practice nothing will be adopted without near-unanimity. "Voting means winners and losers. We can't afford that in the ITU," said Tour, a former satellite engineer from Mali who was educated in Russia. Tour predicted that only "light-touch" regulation on cyber-security will emerge by "consensus", using a deliberately vague term that implies something between a majority and unanimity. TAKING POWER THROUGH TECHNOLOGY IN THE ARAB SPRING Social media is no longer the domain of the liberal youth, empowering different agendas across the political map. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/2012919115344299848.html THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Innovative solutions using mobile technology are becoming increasingly popular in solving local problems. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/10/201110108635691462.html EGYPT FACES NEW MEDIA CENSORSHIP Hosni Mubarak's government is preparing a new law targeting audio-visual media.
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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL- UNHRC

MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN AGENDA TOPIC 1: TARGET 3.A ELIMINATE GENDER DISPARITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, PREFERABLY BY 2005, AND IN ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION NO LATER THAN 2015

TUNISIA: WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND THE NEW CONSTITUTION Women in Tunisian are concerned that the new Constitution may slow down their progress towards gender equality.9 There are concerns amongst vociferous civil society activists about the status of women in the country's new constitution, the drafting of which may require longer time than initially anticipated. Whereas these voices are legitimate and should provide the questioning and citizenry input demanded by genuine democratic transition, there is a degree of misrepresentation, by some forces and discourses of the issues involved. This question is one of many that have over the last a few months added to political dynamism by a polity and society learning to find voice and found presence, but inevitably also produced polarisation, which excludes no single political party or group of actors. There are a few issues that are at the core of rising polarisation within Tunisia's polity. This article looks at the rights of women within the process of constitution-framing. Women: Place and Space August was hot in more than a way in Tunisia. August 13 stood out. It was a day of protest, and to that end women mobilised and organised nationally to remind the law-makers in the Constituent Assembly, tasked with constitution-framing, that their rights are not negotiable. As it were, the country's women, justifiably, want equal share of the public space, refusing to be relegated secondary status - a place as it were - in men's imagining of community for new Tunisia.

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August 13 is for most Tunisian women a special day. Back in 1956, on that day the single most important piece of legislation enshrining women's right to equality was passed under the tutelage of the late Habib Bourguiba, the country's first president. Fifty six years later, and 18 months after the January 14 Revolution, women mobilised to contest the article on gender "complementarity" in the country's draft constitution. Till now, as the constitution is far from final stage of drafting, they beg to differ, and in this vein they are standing up for the right to equality. This is not a stand for the sake of difference as much as it is for the greater sake of clarity about equality in all aspects related to being, thinking and acting as full citizens in a transitional stage during which "words" in the articles of the new constitution has implications for creating "worlds" in the reconstitution of identity and subjectivity. From this angle, what Tunisia's women, who hail from the Trade Union Movement, civic bodies, les femmes democrats, and organisations of all political colours, are seeking to communicate to the interim law - makers is a democratic right. Without it, nascent democratic society and polity risks backsliding into univocal decision - making. The Contest and its Contexts This particular contest, amongst others taking place at an exciting moment in the country's democratic transition, re-opens debates from the times of Bourguiba regarding questions of identity, specificity and the brand of modernity suited to Tunisia. That is the title of the famous treatise written by Tahar Haddad in the 1920s. He was more or less following in the steps of Egypt's first male feminist, Qasim Amin, author of seminal works on the woman question. In the Tunisian context, the early feminism was part of the second wave of socio-political renaissance or nahdah, which broadened the scope of the reformist trajectory subsumed under a political agenda shaped at the time of French colonialism. Freedom, initially Western-inspired from the time of the reformist statesman Khayr Al-Din Pasha, was broadened to look at non-political impediments to nation-building and full citizenship. Gender equality was found to be lacking. Haddad's treatise at once confirms the sanctity of Islamic law and Quranic scripture, arguing women's rights are God-given. Yet at the same time he favoured what he considered to be legitimate innovation, calling for new marriage and inheritance laws to supersede clear Quranic injunctions on these sensitive matters of law in Islam. Haddad, the "feminist" reformer of the early twentieth-century Tunisia, was clear about this agenda despite initial controversy over his ideas and resistance from the upholders of tradition. This resistance has not ceased and the current draft constitution, including the reference to "complementarity" instead of "equality", has reopened the debate in Tunisia. Despite controversy and opposition to them, Haddad's ideas eventually held sway within the political leadership of the nationalist movement and the reform-minded elite of the time. In particular, Bourguiba was attentive to this message, something he passionately embraced and vigorously embodied in the constitutional apparatus of Tunisia's first republic over which he was the chief executive for thirty years. The end result was Bourguiba's 1956 Personal Status Code which enshrined the principle of gender equality, which banned polygamy, amongst other laws. The personal status code: the alternative view From the outset the voices and forces of Islam and Muslim identity had an issue with the Personal Status Code. What Bourguiba viewed as a piece of law encapsulating rethought and enlightened

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Islam, many learned scholars from the Mosque-University of Zeitouna, the equivalent of Al-Azhar in Egypt, regarded as an affront to religious sensibility, norms and teachings. The late Shaykh Mohamed Salih Al-Nayfar, one of the leading Zeitouna scholars declared his opposition to the Personal Status Code from the time of its drafting and inception. More or less, he saw it as a piece of legislation, perhaps not even the brain-child of Bourguiba's own thinking, reflecting excessive and insensitive Westernisation. In a nutshell, Shaykh Al-Nayfar quarrelled with the Personal Status Code's contradiction with Islamic law in matters ranging from divorce to polygamy. To an extent, the question of the status of women in society and Bourguiba Francophile signature on social and political renewal was at the core of the polarity begun in the 1970s by the rising voices of Islamism, which at the time confined its activities to protection of the Islamic heritage, namely, Quranic teaching, education and guidance. These questions proved sufficiently relevant in the early 1980s in the shaping of the moral, social and political agenda of the Islamic Tendency Movement, the Nahda Party's precursor in Tunisia. The tension with Bourguiba's brand of reform overshadowed the rise of Tunisian Islamism. Like AlNayfar, Shaykh Rachid Ghannouchi had issues with the Personal Status Code but that did not mean he is opposed to gender equality. To the contrary, he champions women's rights. He sought to found for a brand of equality that was sensitive to Tunisian specificity, accounting for religious faith and Arab identity. This was the subject of his own treatise "Women: Between the Quran and the Reality of Muslims". The current contests and counter-contests over the draft law on the so-called "complementarity" must be understood in this context. The "complementarity" law has implications for the "sanctity" accorded to the Personal Status Code by many Tunisians, men and women. The Nahda Party has repeatedly declared its commitment to the Code and willingness to work within its framework. Does the draft "complementarity" law represent a kind of volte face? Equality vs. complementarity Under the section on "rights and freedoms", there is evidence of innovation and insistence on the inviolability of citizen's rights, sanctity of humanity, dignity, and body, making illegal practices such as torture or unlawful detention. Thus stipulates Article 2 in the draft constitution, affirming the value of sanctity of life in the previous one. The task has been painstaking with the legislators giving more than two versions for each article in one draft I have seen. The controversy surrounding "complementarity" arises in Article 28, which is crystal clear about banning all forms of discrimination and violence against women. What is not clear, including why the constitution is in the first place dealing with family matters, is the subtext of the wording in this article. The specific context "complementarity" is mentioned in Article 28 is the family. The text goes something like "The state guarantees the protection of women's rights and consolidation of [past] gains based on women being fundamental partners to men in nation-building, with their roles complementing one another within the family." The gains are clear, and in many ways this confirms what Nahda has all along stated that it is committed to the 1956 Personal Status Code. Of course, under Tunisian Law, the Personal Status Code as a "majallah" (legal code) is no more than an ordinary law, and thus takes secondary status to the constitution. Perhaps this is what justifies women's fear for the future of "equality" if the new constitution takes precedence over the Personal Status Code.

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Amongst those gains were women's right to file for divorce, claim maintenance, and many cases has custodianship rights after divorce. The key issue is that of equality. The ambiguity built into Article 28 is not helpful. How married couples perform "complementarity" within the family is open to interpretation, especially in a society where local custom and religious norms are part of the template of identity. This is one reason why critics of this type of wording, in particular the reference to how husbands and wives go about "complementing" each other's roles inside the private realm, view this as a form of subverting the existing legal paradigm, Bourguiba's Personal Status Code, which is clear about equality. Noteworthy here is the fact that in private matters of money-spending, women had the right to spend their money or income as they choose; but in matters of inheritance Islamic Law remained supreme, according women half the share of male inheritors. In family matters, there was no obligation for married women to spend their private money on maintenance and may do so only if they choose to do so - and most do regardless of what the law says. This was slightly modified in Article 23, Law 93 - 74 of 12 July 1993. This law affirms mutual obligation and burden-sharing in matters of provision for the family, for the greater sake of common welfare, of spouses and their children. Even here, despite reference to local norms and traditions, women alone determine what degree of help they may lend to their husbands in matters of providence. Equal Complementarity or Just "Complementarity" Tunisian law-makers can, and I'd wager they will diffuse the controversy by opting of equality. Complementarity is never "equal complementarity" - whatever that means if it had ever existed anywhere. At this stage of Tunisia's transition, there are issues that can be resolved by clear language. Language implies power, and in this case building ambiguity in the new constitution will not make for smooth transition. By opting for the word "equality", the Nahda Party and its partners can kill two birds with one stone: they commit unequivocally to "equality" as well as "equal complementarity" - not just "complementarity". WOMEN IN PARLIAMENTS: CONTESTED GEOGRAPHIES Examining female participation rates in parliaments reveals a new picture of women's rights across the globe. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/03/20123881930115209.html AFGHANISTAN: GIRL POWER Young Afghan women are taking the battle for gender equality onto the streets of Kabul. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/05/2012597434870372.html GETTING WOMEN TO THE TOP Europe is pondering the shortage of female top executives but can legislation guarantee their move up the career ladder? http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/03/20123774832714214.html BIRTHRIGHTS AJES SECTION ON MATERNAL HEALTH: http://www.aljazeera.com/profile/birthrights.html

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MDG 9 - IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FURTHER? AGENDA TOPIC 2: LGBT RIGHTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LINK TO HIV/AIDS

UN CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF GAY RIGHTS World body releases first official report on the issue, asking governments to repeal discriminatory and harmful laws.10 Globally, homosexuals and transgender individuals face discrimination and violence, including killings, rape and torture because of their orientation, and risk the death penalty in at least five countries, the United Nations says. In the first official UN report on the issue, released on Thursday, the world body called on governments to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, prosecute all serious violations, and repeal discriminatory laws. "Homophobic and transphobic violence has been recorded in all regions. Such violence may be physical (including murder, beatings, kidnappings, rape and sexual assault) or psychological (including threats, coercion and arbitrary deprivations of liberty)," said the report by Navi Pillay, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights. Pillay said governments should also outlaw all forms of abuse based on sexual orientation and set the same age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual activity. The UN Human Rights Council commissioned the report in June when it recognised the equal rights of LGBT people and said there should be no discrimination or violence based on sexual orientation. Western countries called the vote historic but Islamic states firmly rejected it. "On the basis of the information presented (in this report), a pattern of human rights violations emerges that demands a response,'' Pillay said. "Governments and inter-governmental bodies have often overlooked violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,'' she added. In addition to spontaneous "street" violence, people perceived as being LGBT may be targets of more organised abuse,

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"including by religious extremists, paramilitary groups, neo-Nazis and extreme nationalists," the UN report said. 'High degree of cruelty' Violence against LGBT people tends to be especially vicious, with "a high degree of cruelty" including mutilation and castration, the 25-page report said. They are also victims of so-called "honour killings" carried out by relatives or community members who believe shame has been brought on the family, the report added. Gay men have been murdered in Sweden and the Netherlands, while a homeless transgender woman was killed in Portugal, it said. Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and South Africa have experienced gang rapes, family violence and murder. Currently 76 countries have laws that are used to criminalise behaviour on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, it said, calling for their repeal. "In at least five countries, the death penalty may be applied to those found guilty of offences relating to consensual, adult homosexual conduct," the report said. It did not identify the countries, but activists named them as Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. Areas of Nigeria and Somalia also impose the death penalty for homosexual practices, they said. Last week, US President Barack Obama directed government agencies to make sure US diplomacy and foreign assistance promote gay rights and fight discrimination. At the same time, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, in a speech to diplomats in Geneva, compared the struggle for gay equality to difficult passages toward women's rights and racial equality. The US, and Pillay's report, stopped short of backing gay marriage. But the UN report cites human rights experts as saying countries have an obligation to ensure "unmarried same-sex couples are treated in the same way and entitled to the same benefits as unmarried opposite-sex couples". AIDS: FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION As the UN marks World AIDS Day, we ask if prejudice and ignorance are standing in the way of an AIDS-free generation http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/12/201212172335306615.html UGANDA'S 'KILL THE GAYS' BILL SPREADS FEAR Efforts to establish anti-homosexual laws stir nervousness among the LGBT community and beyond. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/2013121392698654.html

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME-UNEP

MDG 7 - ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 7.A: INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.

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AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 7.C: HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION.

BURKINA FASO SUFFERING FROM DEFORESTATION The West African country is losing 110,550 hectares of forest each year, according to a new study11. The Burkina Faso authorities have sounded the alarm over the increased rate of degradation of forests in this Sahelian country. According to a study by the Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development, some 110,550 hectares of forest are destroyed each year, just over four percent of the country's total wooded area - around three-quarters of this annual loss linked to farming. The data covers forest loss between 1992 and 2002, but the trend continues, according to the ministry. The environment ministry's study shows that in the eastern region of Kompienga, the destruction of wooded areas avearaged 1,600 square kilometres over each of the past 15 years. In Poni and Noumbiel, in the south-west, savannah forests have lost 60 per cent of their area, giving way to scrublands. "The contributing factors are decreased rainfall, bush fires, the demand for wood and non-wood products, and clearing of forest in order to have larger harvests," said Soumaila Banc, the country coordinator for the Convention on Biodiversity at the National Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development. "We have an increase in demand which exceeds supply. The population is growing and the resources are no longer sufficient to feed it. The area that we have restored is not enough to cover the demand," said Banc. The growth rate of the Burkinab population is 3.1 per cent, according the most recent census, in 2006. Threatens biological diversity But poverty is also a factor, pushing unemployed youth to go after resources which do not belong to anyone/public-common resources. They cut green wood without waiting for it to reach maturity, said Banc. "They're gathering immature fruit; only when the fruit is allowed to ripen is there the chance of regeneration because the seeds of ripe fruit can germinate and grow up to replace the big trees," said Banc.

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The International Union of Concerned Scientists (IUCN) is extremely concerned by the accelerated degradation of forests in Burkina Faso, which also affects the soil. The IUCN says that between 1992 and 2009, the centre-west of the country saw an extremely elevated rate of deforestation for agriculture, which estimates the area lost to cultivation at 40 per cent. Overall, there was an acceleration of degradation beginning in the 1990s, according to an IUCN study published in May 2011. Between 1982 and 1990, the union put losses at around 11 per cent per year, but in the past decade, the area degraded reached 43 per cent. "There are a number of threats which threaten the biological diversity of our country due to the accelerated degradation of forests," said Mouni Sawadogo, head of the IUCN programme in Burkina Faso. The degradation of forests threatens the existence of more than sixty plant species. The red list of the IUCN shows that there are also animal species threatened with extinction, and in some lakes, stocks of some fish species are only a twentieth what they were 30 years ago. According to Banc, the baobab, kapok and wild plum trees are among the plant species threatened with disappearance. "There is a awareness, but the lack of financing means there's no follow-up, and the forest code is not applied/enforced," says Sawadogo. "If we want to restore biodiversity and slow the destructive action in the forests, we must continue with reforestation," says Sina Sere, the director general of the National Centre for Forest Seeds. Each year, 10m seedlings are planted in the framework of reforestation campaigns, but very few survive for lack of care. Future plans A strategic plan for 2010-2020, adopted in Nagoya, Japan, calls on each country to restore at least 15 per cent of its degraded zones each year between now and 2015.According to the IUCN, forests currently produce a sixth of world emissions of carbon when they are logged, overexploited or degraded. In contrast, stresses the IUCN report, forests react sensitively to climate change when they are managed sustainably. They produce wood for fuel, which can favourably replace fossil fuels. And they also have the potential to absorb a tenth of the expected world carbon emissions for the first half of this century in their biomass and store it permanently. "We must involve people in the management of forests because they have a real capacity to respond. It is here that innovative smallholders or conservation actions can succeed; we have to learn from their experience, and combine this with research findings and make this available so we can reproduce what has already worked," insists Sawadogo. "This will allow [us] to maintain biodiversity on the ground, and also allow people to live in this way." "For the preservation/conservation of natural resources - the sustainable use of natural resources - social and economic components must be integrated in the process of conservation," adds Sawadogo. "Principles of good governance must be respected at all levels of natural resources", he says. SCIENCE IS KEY TO OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Scientists must urgently take an active role in public debate if we are to achieve global sustainability http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/20126211211472368.html ARE WE SUSTAINABLE?

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As the Rio+20 conference closes, radical change remains necessary, experts tell Al Jazeera. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/06/201261574653597584.html RISK OF WATER WARS RISES WITH SCARCITY Almost half of humanity will face water scarcity by 2030 and strategists from Israel to Central Asia prepare for strife http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/06/2011622193147231653.html GULF STATES QUIET ON CLIMATE CHANGE PLEDGES The wealthy states have not yet pledged to cut emissions, but green energy projects are blooming in the oil-rich region http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/11/20121130115051950778.html

WORLD BANK-WB
MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 8.A DEVELOP FURTHER AN OPEN, RULE-BASED, DISCRIMINATORY TRADING AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM PREDICTABLE, NON

AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.D DEAL COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE DEBT PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

SUDAN URGES CANCELLATION OF ITS DEBTS Foreign minister tells UN Sudan needs assistance to recover after critical oil revenue was lost when the South seceded .12

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/20129300179929951.html

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Sudan has told the United Nations General Assembly that its debts must be cancelled and its economy supported as it struggles to recover from losing three-quarters of its critical oil revenue to South Sudan when it seceded a year ago. "Sudan requires assistance to go through this very sensitive stage towards better horizons. For that we believe that debts must be cancelled and its economy supported," Ali Ahmed Karti, the Sudanese foreign minister, said on Saturday. The International Monetary Fund this week urged Sudan to meet donors to discuss debt relief and some IMF board members called for "exceptional efforts" from the IMF and the global community to help Sudan reduce its debt of about $40bn. South Sudan seceded in July 2011. Leaders from both states finally reached a border security deal on Wednesday to restart badly needed oil exports, but failed to solve the other key conflicts left over from when they split. The pair failed to settle the fate of at least five disputed oil-producing regions along the border. Tensions over the unmarked 1930km common border spilled over into fighting in April, when South Sudan's army briefly occupied the Heglig oilfield, vital to Sudan's economy. They were also unable to reach a solution for the border region of Abyei, which has symbolic significance to both and is rich in grazing lands. Plans for a referendum have failed over the question of who should participate. Sudan has been in an economic crisis since South Sudan seceded, taking with it most of the crude oil production - the lifeblood of both economies. The loss of oil revenues left Sudan with a large budget gap and rising prices for food and other goods, many of which are imported. 'Unfair sanctions' "We have been determined to tackle the reasons for war and strife despite the strong economic and political pressures being brought to bear against my country and unfair sanctions imposed by the United States," Karti said. Washington still maintains its 1997 embargo on the country over Sudan's role in hosting prominent Islamist militants. The sanctions restrict US trade and investment with Sudan and block the assets of the Sudanese government. The US and other powers criticise Sudan for human rights violations and a harsh crackdown on rebels. Western powers also shun Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who was indicted by the International Criminal Court over war crimes in Darfur, the site of a nearly decade-old insurgency. Karti also mentioned Darfur on Saturday. "We call on the international community to protect and secure the peace by countering the armed rebel groups that have refused to join the peace process. We also call on the Security Council to bring pressure to bare against those movements to compel them to join the document," he said. Violence has since subsided from its peak, but law and order have collapsed in many parts of the vast territory, and clashes have continued to erupt between rebels and government forces. LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES STAGNATING

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The world's poorest countries have stagnating economies and won't reach the Millennium Development Goals, report says. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/03/2011331144828719670.html THE WORLD BANK AND THE DEVELOPMENT DELUSION The World Bank can be an effective tool in the fight against poverty with fundamental changes in its power structure. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/201292673233720461.html GLOBAL SOUTH KEY TO AFRICAN ECONOMIES "South-south" cooperation will help both African countries and other emerging economies http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/07/2011727101617257833.html DIVISIONS OVER AID AS CLIMATE TALKS NEAR END Standoff between rich and developing countries remains as the COP18 talks in Qatar enter the final stretch. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/2012127072125988.html

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CNN INTERNATIONAL

INTRODUCTION HISTORY OF CNN INTERNATIONAL CCN INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CNNI AND CNN/US PROGRAMMING OTHER ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS ONLINE CNN BOUREAU LOCATIONS CNN RELATIONSHIP WITH EASTERN NATIONS PRESENT PERSONATILIES SOME BIOGRAPHIES CNN AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUNS AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION
CNN International (CNNI) is the CNNs International English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly broadcast to the United States and Canada. Its principal global competitor is BBC World News. CNN International is available in most countries, distributed via satellite, cable, IPTV and DTT. Its international reach is more than 200 million households and hotel rooms in over 200 countries. The current managing director of CNN International is Tony Maddox.

HISTORY
CNN International began transmissions in its first studio in Atlanta on January 1, 1984 at first primarily broadcasting to American business travelers in hotels. In 1990, however, the amount of news programming produced by CNNI especially for international viewers increased significantly. A major new newsroom and studio complex was built in 1994, as CNN decided to compete against BBC World Service Television's news programming. CNNI emerged as an internationally oriented news channel, with staff members of various national backgrounds, even though some accusations of a pro-U.S. editorial bias persist. CNN International was awarded the Liberty Medal on July 4, 1997. Ted Turner, in accepting the medal on behalf of the network, said: "My idea was, we're just going to give people the facts... We didn't have to show liberty and democracy as good, and show socialism or totalitarianism as bad. If we just showed them both the way they were ... clearly everybody's going to choose liberty and democracy." In 1992, creative director Morgan Almeida defines a progressive re-branding strategy, to target CNNI's diverse global market and the word International on CNNs logo was replaced by the picture of the world. The network undertook another major rebranding effort in 2005 overseen by the award winning creative vision of Mark Wright and London agency Kemistry. In January 1, 2009, CNN International adopted the "lower-thirds" CNN/US introduced a month earlier which were inspired by the clean modern design of the CNN I rebrand efforts. In the U.S., CNNI North America was distributed overnight and on weekends over the CNNfn financial channel, until that channel's demise in December 2004. It is now available as a standalone, full-time channel, usually as part of digital packages of cable operators including Time Warner Cable, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, and Cox. Throughout January until September 2009, CNN International adapted more programs that became geared towards a primetime European audience with a few titled after CNN International personalities, most notably the interview program Amanpour. On September 21, 2009, the channel launched a new tagline "Go Beyond Borders", along with a new logo, and consolidated its general newscasts (World News, CNN Today, World News Asia, World News Europe and Your World Today) into a single newscast entitled World Report. The motto "Go Beyond Borders" emphasizes the international perspective that gives the information in this string and the plurality of the audiences. With this motto, CNN also refers to the various platforms to disseminate their contents. An important element of reform is the new

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evening program that adds the broadcast of programs Amanpour and World One. The makeover of CNN International has roused lots of criticisms on both the new prime time lineup and the redesigned graphics. On January 11, 2009, the network launched a new production center: CNN Abu Dhabi based in United Arab Emirates. Then CNN International adapted half hour in its schedule with a new evening prime program for the Middle East viewers: Prism. Also from 2010 CNN International has launched new programs for evening-prime and improve its schedule. In 2011, the Domestic CNN has added to the CNN International schedule, the new talk show program Piers Morgan Tonight.

CHANNELS
There are six variants of CNN International: - CNN International Europe/Middle East/Africa, based in London, England, United Kingdom - CNN International Middle East, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - CNN International Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong SAR, China - CNN International South Asia based in Hong Kong SAR, China - CNN International in Latin America based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA - CNN International North America based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA The schedules of the different regional versions no longer differ significantly from each other, but there are still minor variations such as weather updates and show's times. CNN has reported that their broadcast agreement in mainland China includes an arrangement that their signal must pass through a Chinese-controlled satellite. In this way, Chinese authorities have been able to black out CNNI segments at will. CNN has also said that their broadcasts are not widely available in mainland China, but rather only in certain diplomatic compounds, hotels, and apartment blocks. CNN International can now be watched free of charge at CNN.com on a part-time basis. During the breaks, headlines, market data and weather are shown.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CNNI AND CNN/US

CNNI simulcasts CNN/US newscasts whenever major events happen in the United States or around the world. Examples include the death and funeral of Ronald Reagan, the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence Center, the Hudson river plane landing, the

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attempted Christmas Day bombing of flight 253 and the death and memorial service of Michael Jackson as well as scheduled events such as US elections, Presidential inaugurations and the annual New Year's Eve ball drop from Times Square. Likewise, CNN/US occasionally turns to CNNI newscasts, primarily when major international news breaks during overnight hours in the US. A notable case was during the death of Pope John Paul II and the aftermath of the London Underground bombings of July 7, 2005. CNN/US simulcast CNNI coverage of the death of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on the night after her assassination took place. Simulcasts also happened from November 27 to 29, 2008 due to the terror attacks in Mumbai, India, January 4, 2009 when Israel launched strikes into Gaza, and during the early hours of January 14, 2010 due to the earthquake in Haiti. Although dramatically scaled down since its early days, CNNI draws from feed of the main CNN channel for Piers Morgan Tonight which is also repeated twice daily, the (live) 9 a.m. hour of State of the Union with Candy Crowley, all editions of Anderson Cooper 360, and someCNN Special Investigations Unit documentaries. Your Money, Erin Burnett Out Front and the Saturday edition of The Situation Room are not seen live on CNNI but are seen hours after their original broadcast.

PROGRAMMING
Weekdays GMT 11p12a Program Host(s) Location Description Focusing on politics, US Washington, D. security, and human C. interest stories Hong Kong CNN International's general newscast Nightly news and talk, series-documentary program Nightly interview program Primetime business program with reports from around the world A discussion of the day's top news with journalists and contributors International sports news program CNN feature programs

The Situation Wolf Blitzer Room (tape-delay) Anna Coren

12a-1a World Report Anderson 360 Piers Tonight Cooper

1a-2a

Anderson Cooper New York

2a-3a

Morgan

Piers Morgan

3a-4a

Quest Means Richard Quest Business (repeat) Erin Burnett Erin Burnett OutFront (repeat) World Sport Pre-recorded

London

4a-5a 5a530a 530a6a

New York

Mark McKay or Patrick CNN Center Snell

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6a-7a 7a-8a 8a830a 830a9a

World Report World Sport Pre-recorded

Rosemary Church John Vause Various CNN Center

CNN International's general newscast International sports news program CNN feature programs

9a-10a

World Today

CNN International's general Charles Hodson or Business London and business program with a Nina Dos Santos and Hong Kong look at the different Andrew Stevens markets Isha Sesay CNN Center CNN International's behind-the-news program CNN feature programs Monita Rajpal and Zain London Verjee New York Hong Kong An hour look at what's making news Nightly interview program CNN International's technology news program CNN International's general business program with a look at the different markets A fast-paced news program Business program, focusing on upcoming markets, including Latin-America, the Middle-East or AsiaPacific International sports news program CNN feature programs Hala Gorani Richard Quest CNN Center London New York A fast-paced news program Primetime business program with reports from around the world Nightly interview program

10aBackStory (repeat) 1030a 1030aPre-recorded 11a 11a12p 12p-1p 1p-2p World One

Piers Morgan Piers Morgan Tonight (repeat) News Stream Kristie Lu Stout

2p-3p

World Today

Charles Hodson or London, Hong Business Nina Dos Santos, Kong and New Andrew Stevens and York Maggie Lake Michael Holmes CNN Center

3p-4p

International Desk

4p-5p

Global Exchange

John Defterios

Abu Dhabi

5p530p 530p6p 6p-7p 7p-8p 8p-9p

World Sport Pre-recorded International Desk Quest Business Piers Means

Don Riddell or Alex London Thomas

Morgan Piers Morgan

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Tonight (repeat) 9p-10p Connect the World 10pBackStory 1030p 1030pWorld Sport 11p Becky Anderson London Focuses on headlines that have impacts around the world CNN International's behind-the-news program International sports news program

Isha Sesay Various

CNN Center London

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS

Talk Asia - From CNN Hong Kong, an interview show from important people who go to Hong Kong. World View - The show presented by Guillermo Arduino features reports from local media outlets around the world. (formerly known as World Report). Inside Africa - This show, go inside Africa with its culture, people, and reports about important African news. Inside the Middle East - This show, produced by CNN Abu Dhabi, provides a look of the region's news, culture and entertainment. iReport for CNN - Guillermo Arduino]screens the best iReports of the week and selected content from social-networking and user-generated sites especially Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The show also occasionally features the latest developments in the technology world. BackStory - This program presented by Isha Sesay shows viewers how stories of the day are produced and their challenges. A weekend "Best Of" show now also airs. African Voices - Every week CNN's African Voices highlights Africa's most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. Fareed Zakaria GPS - It is an hour-long program that takes a comprehensive look at foreign affairs and the decisions impacting our lives. Every week we bring you in-depth interviews with world leaders, newsmakers, and analysts breaking down the world's toughest problems. Hosted by Fareed Zakaria. World's Untold Stories - A documental from different places featuring histories that impact the world. CNN Special Investigations Unit (produced by CNN/US). State Of The Union with Candy Crowley Marketplace Middle East - It focuses on the issues, developments and trends that affect the region's business climate. Hosted by John Defterios. CNN Marketplace Africa - It Offers CNN viewers a unique window into African business on and off the continent. It is the destination for movers and shakers at the forefront of African business. Presented by Robyn Curnow

ONLINE
CNN debuted its news website CNN.com (initially an experiment known as CNN Interactive) on August 30, 1995. The site attracted growing interest over its first decade and is now one of the

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most popular news websites in the world. The widespread growth of blogs, social media and usergenerated content have influenced the site, and blogs in particular have focused CNN's previously scattershot online offerings, most noticeably in the development and, in late 2005, in the launch of CNN Pipeline . It was the name of a paid subscription service, its corresponding website, and a content delivery client that provided streams of live video from up to four sources (or "pipes"), ondemand access to CNN stories and reports, and optional pop-up "news alerts" to computer users. CNN also has a channel in the popular video-sharing site YouTube, but its videos can only be viewed in the United States, a source of criticism among YouTube users worldwide. In April 2010, CNN announced trough Twitter its upcoming food blog called "Eatocracy," in which it will "cover all news related to food from recalls to health issues to culture."

CNN BOUREAU LOCATIONS

CNN International has several locations in the Usa a part from its Headquarters in Atlanta Atlanta (World Headquarters) Boston Chicago Dallas Los Angeles Miami New Orleans New York City San Francisco Washington, D.C. From 1994 CNN International began to extend its locations in the Middle East and in the African continent in order to own offices in all continents. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Middle East regional headquarters) Baghdad, Iraq Bangkok, Thailand Beijing, China Beirut, Lebanon

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Berlin, Germany Bogot, Colombia Cairo, Egypt Dubai, United Arab Emirates Havana, Cuba Hong Kong (Asia/Pacific regional headquarters) Islamabad, Pakistan Istanbul, Turkey Jakarta, Indonesia Tehran, Iran (until the 2009 election when foreign media were expelled from the country) Jerusalem, Israel Johannesburg, South Africa Lagos, Nigeria London, United Kingdom (European regional headquarters) Madrid, Spain Mexico City, Mexico Moscow, Russia Nairobi, Kenya New Delhi, India (CNN IBN) Paris, France Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Santiago of Chile, Chile (CNN Chile) So Paulo, Brazil Seoul, South Korea Sydney, Australia Tokyo, Japan

CNN RELATIONSHIP WITH EASTERN NATIONS

Because of its use of local reporters, CNN has been criticized by Middle Eastern nations, which claim that CNN International reports news from a pro-American perspective. This is a marked contrast to domestic criticisms that often portray CNN as having a "liberal" or "anti-American" bias. In 2002, Honest Reporting spearheaded a campaign to expose CNN for pro-Palestinian bias, citing public remarks in which Ted Turner equated Palestinian suicide bombing with Israeli military strikes. A Chinese website, anti-cnn.com, has accused CNN and western media in general of biased reporting against China, with the catch-phrase "Don't be so CNN" catching on in the Chinese mainstream as jokingly meaning "Don't be so biased". Pictures used by CNN are allegedly edited to have completely different meanings from the original ones. In addition, the channel was accused of largely ignoring pro-China voices during the Olympic Torch Relay in San Francisco. On July 7, 2010, Octavia Nasr, senior Middle East editor and a CNN journalist for 20 years, was fired after she expressed admiration on her Twitter account for a liberal-minded Muslim cleric who had recently passed away, casting doubts on the company's commitment to freedom of speech.

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PRESENT PERSONATILIES
Anchors: Natalie Allen (World Report) Christiane Amanpour Becky Anderson (Connect the World) Errol Barnett (Inside Africa, Correspondent) Pauline Chiou (World Report) Rosemary Church (World Report) Jim Clancy (The Brief) Anna Coren (World Report, Talk Asia) John Defterios (Global Exchange, Marketplace Middle East) Nina Dos Santos (World Business Today, Correspondent) Max Foster (Stand-in Anchor, Royal Correspondent) Hala Gorani (International Desk) Charles Hodson (World Business Today) Michael Holmes (International Desk) Maggie Lake (World Business Today, Business Correspondent) Jonathan Mann (Political Mann, International Desk, World Report) Colleen McEdwards (World Report) Mark McKay (World Sport) Pedro Pinto (World Sport) Richard Quest (Quest Means Business, Business Traveller, Marketplace Europe) Monita Rajpal (World One) Candy Reid (World Sport) Don Riddell (World Sport) Isha Sesay (BackStory) Patrick Snell (World Sport) Andrew Stevens (World Business Today) Kristie Lu Stout (News Stream) Fionnuala Sweeney (World Report This Week) Felicia Taylor (Stand-in Anchor for World Business Today, Business Correspondent) Manisha Tank (Stand-in Anchor for CNN Hong Kong) Alex Thomas (World Sport) Ralitsa Vassileva (World Report) John Vause (World Report) Zain Verjee (World One) Meteorologists and Correspondents: Guillermo Arduino (Meteorologist, World View, iReport) Jim Bittermann (Paris Correspondent) Phil Black (London Correspondent) Ivan Cabrera (Meteorologist) Matthew Chance (Senior International Correspondent)

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Robyn Curnow (Africa Correspondent, Marketplace Africa) Arwa Damon (Beirut Correspondent) Jennifer Delgado (Meteorologist) Jill Dougherty (Foreign Affairs Correspondent) Jaime A. Florcruz (Beijing Bureau Chief Correspondent) Stan Grant (Beijing Correspondent) Paula Hancocks (Seoul Correspondent) Jenny Harrison (Meteorologist) Mohammed Jamjoom (Middle East Correspondent) Pedram Javaheri(Meteorologist) Martin Jeannes (Meteorologist) Kyung Lah (Tokyo Correspondent) Lola Martinez (Meteorologist) Liz Neisloss (Asia Pacific Correspondent) Paula Newton (Canada and Special Correspondent) Frederik Pleitgen (Berlin Correspondent) Mari Ramos (Meteorologist) Dan Rivers (Senior International Correspondent) Nic Robertson (Senior International Correspondent) Shirley Robertson (Correspondent, Mainsail) Richard Roth (Senior United Nations Correspondent) Bill Schneider (Senior Political Analyst, Correspondent) Bonnie Schneider (Meteorologist) Sarah Sidner (India and South Asia Correspondent) Atika Shubert (General United Kingdom Correspondent) Eunice Yoon (Beijing Correspondent)

SOME BIOGRAPHIES
Matthew Chance is CNN's senior international correspondent based in Moscow. He has reported extensively on major stories for CNN's global news networks from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Russia and Chechnya, Europe and the Far East. Chance led CNNs coverage of the 2008 Georgia Russia war, reporting from the frontlines. With his team, Chance was the only television correspondent to cross from Georgian to Russian territory, filing reports from Tskinvali, the devastated capital of the South Ossetia war zone. When the conflict ended, Chance secured an exclusive interview with the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin the networks first for eight years. Chance also sat down with Russias president, Dmitry Medvedev, for a one-on-one interview. In other assignments, Chance reported from Mumbai, India, where he covered the 2008 militant attacks on the city and the siege of the landmark Taj Majal Hotel. In 2005, Chance reported from the scene of the London bombings in July and carried out investigative reporting on the terrorists responsible for the catastrophe. He also reported on the Tsunami tragedy from Phuket where he documented heartbreaking stories of tourists from 27 nations caught in the disaster in December 2004.

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In Russia, Chance reported on the Beslan school siege in September 2004 when 344 civilians perished in the three-day standoff between Chechen rebels and Russian security forces. He also covered the Moscow theatre hostage crisis in October 2002, in which nearly 800 people were held captive by Chechen rebels. His reports documented how Russian special forces pumped lethal gas into the theatre auditorium to subdue the hostage takers before storming in. He has also travelled repeatedly to Chechnya, where a bitter war continues unabated between separatist rebels and Russian troops. In the Middle East, Chance reported extensively from Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 war. He has also spent months documenting the hardships and bloodshed felt by both sides in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, from Palestinian suicide attacks against Israelis to the impact of that country's military action in the occupied territories. He was the first journalist to interview the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, after Israeli troops lifted a siege on his Ramallah compound in May 2002. He also covered the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in May 2002. In 2005 he covered the disengagement of Israel from Gaza. And in 2007, he returned to the region to report from the frontlines in the war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah. As nuclear tensions simmered between India and Pakistan, Chance flew to the central Asian country of Kazakhstan to interview the Pakistani president, General Pervais Musharraf. In the interview, General Musharraf clarified his policy on the use of nuclear weapons. Chance joined CNN in October 2001 when he reported from Northern Afghanistan. As Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance forces, he was the first CNN correspondent, and one of the first Western reporters, to arrive in the city, entering the Afghan capital on foot. He then reported on the emotional outpouring as the people of Kabul reacted to the departure of the Taliban. Between 1996 and 2001, Chance was a freelance correspondent based in Sri Lanka, Bangkok and London. Some of the events he covered on behalf of CNN include the violence in East Timor, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the refugee crisis in Kosovo. He has also reportedly extensively on the troubles in Chechnya, spending almost 18 months in Russia and Chechnya reporting for CNN. Previously he worked in London as a broadcast journalist for the BBC World Service. Chance is British and attended the University of London where he earned a BA in Archaeology and Art from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Robyn Curnow is a correspondent for CNN based at the networks bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is host of CNN Marketplace Africa, a programme that offers a weekly insight into African business. Curnow has interviewed newsmakers such as former South African President Nelson Mandela, US First Lady Michelle Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Along with politicians such as South African President Jacob Zuma and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Curnow has also interviewed US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Olympian Oscar Pistorius and IMF head Christine Lagarde. Her weekly facetime interview on Marketplace Africa is the place for Africas business leaders to talk about commerce on the continent. Among others, she has interviewed Econet CEO Strive Masiywa, Rio Tinto CEO of Tom Albanese, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti, MTN CEO Sifiso Dabengwa and other business leaders. Curnow recently reported from the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe, part of her continuing coverage of the political and economic challenges facing that country. Additionally, Curnow has filed stories and presented shows from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana. Curnow

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has won international awards for her coverage of the HIV/Aids epidemic in South Africa and for her hour-long documentary on Mandela at 90. She was the only reporter to broadcast exclusively from within Mandela's compound in Qunu, Eastern Cape for his birthday party. Previously, Curnow was a freelance correspondent and anchor at CNNs London bureau, reporting on the death of Pope John Paul II from the Vatican, the 2005 London bombings and the South Asian tsunami, for which the CNN team won a DuPont-Columbia Award. Curnow also presented CNNs sailing show MainSail. Early on in her journalism career, Robyn was a news reporter for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. She has also worked as a reporter for the BBC. Curnow has a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations from Cambridge University, where she studied at Magdalene College. Curnow was born in Australia but raised in South Africa. http://edition.cnn.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN_International http://www.cnnmediainfo.com/ www.ibnlive.in.com http://www.turner.com/brands/cnn-international

CNN AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

CNN International is a world wide media outlet aspiring to cover all the issues that affect the world as a whole. However, this mission is universal and challening and every good reporter (and editor) is asked to filter news and stories, interests and issues. We have to set our priorities keeping in mind three main pillars: 1) We are a U.S.-based and -funded media outlet. We share with America the mission to push global progress forward, to press for human rights being recognized, to individual freedom to rise everywhere. As a consequence we have to find human interest stories. 2) We have to sell. We are an industrial complex and our products is to be sold on the news market. We have to find attractive stories. As a consequence, we have to align our values with our interests, letting our readership to immediately identify itself with the people whose stories we are telling, even if a Malian refugee is concerned. As a result, we have to tell personal stories, not impersonal ones. Alternatively, we can find famous people and let them pen their views on wide global challenges, such as reduce poverty or end slavery. 3) We are an American mainsteam media outlet. We have to serve our country as watchdog, as the fourth estate. But we do not imperil our national security. And we do not let partisanship and umbalance gain way inside our news reports. As far as the Millennium Development Goals are concerned, CNN International is deeply involved in the covering, promotion and debate on these fundamental issues. We host famous people on a daily basis discussing world health, poverty, gender equality, diseases and so on. We have to tell our readership if the goal are to be met, how they are addressed, why they are not, who is to blame and where further action is required. Of course we have to tell the stories of places in the world where such goals are not met. But it is not always true that bad news is good news. Positive stories can also find space in our reporting. For we do not only have to push the accomplishment of these goals but also to let our readership know that the global progress mission is advancing.

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As for the Rome MUN, we have to understand at which point the accomplishment of the goals is, which delegations are pushing forward this mission and which ones are an obstacle. But we do not have to cover all the issues debated. We have to set priorities. CNN International has to cover the most interesting issues for our readership, which is obviously global but American and Western as a majority. Moreover, inside a single topic, we do have to select some angles, some aspects that need to be told better. We are required to understand what the main cleavages are inside the committees, who are the main leaders, what their strategies to obtain their goals are, who is an obstacle in pushing forward the goals accomplishment. We as reporters do not have to say thing, but instead to let delegates talk: we have to obtain quotations (not interviews) from influent delegates. A main example on the lens through which CNN International sees these problems is the following op-ed: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/26/opinion/drummond-goals-world/ index.html?iref=allsearch

ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUNS AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

GENERAL ASSEMBLY - PLENARY MEETING-GA

MDG 1 - ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 1.A + 1.B - POVERTY ISSUE (REF. 2.A - SCHOOLING) HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN 1$ PER DAY FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 1.C - HUNGER HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HUNGER

UN CHIEF: DON'T WAVER FROM ANTI-POVERTY GOALS13

13

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-20/us/new.york.un.summit_1_millennium-development-goals-extreme-povertymeeting?_s=PM:US

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon exhorted member nations Monday not to waver from efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals they set for themselves a decade ago with a deadline of 2015. "We have led you to the river, so what are we asking of you today?" he said to a U.N. summit on global goals to fight poverty, hunger and disease. "To stay true, true to our identity as an international community built on a foundation of solidarity, true to our commitment to end the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty." The eight goals call for halving extreme poverty and hunger and achieving full employment; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality by two thirds; reducing maternal mortality by three quarters and achieving universal access to reproductive health; beginning to reverse the spread of HIV; ensuring environmental stability; and developing a global partnership for development that deals with developing countries' debt. In a report issued before Monday's meeting, Ban said the summit is "crucially important" for meeting the anti-poverty goals. Progress reaching the targets has been uneven, he said, and several of the goals are likely to be missed in many countries if additional efforts are not made. The United Nations said almost 150 heads of state were expected to attend the meeting, which comes as many donor countries are tightening purse-strings in the wake of large fiscal deficits, rising debts and the global economic crisis. "But economic uncertainty cannot be an excuse for slowing down our development efforts," Ban said in the report. French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed levying a tax on transactions through the world banking system and applying those funds to efforts to meet the goals. "Why should we not as finance -- money -- to participate in stabilizing the world by being involved in imposing on each financial transaction a small tax?" he asked. Bolivian President Evo Morales blamed the transfer of natural resources from southern countries to those in the north for the world's economic imbalance. "What we should discuss at this meeting, dear presidents, heads of state and heads of delegations, is how to put an end to this pillage of resources from the south," he said. He called for the nationalization of natural resources "so the dividends they generate will remain in our countries and benefit our peoples." BLAIR CALL FOR WAR ON POVERTY http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/02/07/nigeria.blair/index.html?iref=allsearch WORLD WASTES HALF ITS FOOD, STUDY FINDS

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http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/10/world/world-food-waste/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2 NORTH KOREANS IN DESPERATE NEED OF FOOD AFTER FLOODS http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/03/world/asia/north-korea-floods/index.html WORLD FOOD DAY: EASY WAYS TO HELP FIGHT HUNGER http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/10/16/world-food-day-easy-ways-to-help-fighthunger/?iref=allsearch FURY AS WEST SNUBS HUNGER SUMMIT http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/06/12/rome.hunger/index.html?iref=allsearch FINDING NEW ANSWERS TO FEEDING A GROWING WORLD POPULATION http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/18/world/summit-hunger-solutions/index.html?iref=allsearch

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL-SC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICTS
Children of the conflict: Innocence interrupted by war
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Tel Aviv (CNN) -- Four-year-old Yosef lies in a hospital bed with curiosity gleaming in his eyes as he listens to a family friend tell him the age-old story of Jonah and the whale. The young boy is surprisingly bright-eyed after the traumatic ordeal he's endured as a result of the latest outbreak of warfare between Gaza and Israel. He and his parents were staying in an apartment in Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel when a rocket sailed over from Gaza and slammed into it, leaving a gaping hole in the building. The blast sheered off several of Yosef's tiny fingers, badly wounded his father, and killed his mother, Mina Scharf, one of the first to die on the Israeli side of the border. Yosef learned about his mother from his father, Shmuel, who is recovering in the same hospital.

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"He was saying, 'My mother is not here; she's with God.' He knows it will be a hard time," his grandmother, Chaya Sarah Scharf, said. Hard is putting it mildly. Doctors at the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer hospital reattached four of his fingers, but in the end they had to re-amputate two of them. "He lives in the South and there are rockets all the time in that area. Hamas doesn't even think about where the rockets are going," his grandmother said. While nurses attended to Yosef in Room 12, one room away nurses were attending to on another child with nearly identical wounds from the most recent chapter of this conflict. What sets them apart is that the second child is from Gaza. Eight-year-old Bisan al-Aghram lost three fingers when the war came to her home. "I heard the sound of a missile that hit. I didn't even have time to ask what happened and then the second one (hit)," said her mother, Soad al-Aghram. When the dust cleared, she could see the bones of her childs fingers in small pieces on the floor. The girl was taken to Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, but it was too crowded and couldn't give her the best care. So the family asked Israel for permission to cross the border. Initially, her mother was terrified at the prospect of people considered an enemy in her country handling her wounded daughter. "Its a strange situation and it's my first time entering Israel. I was afraid, but they treat me and my daughter in a very nice way, and I understand that medicine has nothing to do with politics," alAghram said. That's the philosophy the hospital tries to adhere to -- no matter what. "All the tension is blocked outside of the hospital here. There is an island of sanity in the stormy water of the Middle East. Here we actually treat people. We don't actually look from where they are, what they do and what they did before coming here, and what they are going to do after leaving us," said Zeev Rotstein, CEO of Sheba Medical Center. The same doctor is treating the two children of conflict who both lost fingers from rocket blasts. "It will affect her life from now on, and his life from now on, in choice of profession ... or in choice of future partners for life, everything. And this kind of injury, although it seems minor, it's affecting the person for life," hand surgeon Dr. Batia Yaffe said. Yaffe has worked in this Tel Aviv hospital nearly her entire career. She has treated everyone from soldiers to suicide bombers and the civilians in between. "I come to think about what is it about this piece of land that everybody is fighting about it all the time. This is what comes to my mind: whether this is our lot for eternity from now on. Always have injuries on both sides, always fighting -- what's the point?" she asks. If there is a point, it is lost on a 4-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl from either side of the IsraelGaza border who just want to be children, but whose innocence has been interrupted by a war they had nothing to do with. MORE CHILD SOLDIERS IN SOMALIA FIGHTING http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/21/world/africa/somalia-child-soldiers/index.html EX-CHILD-SOLDIER: 'SHOOTING BECAME JUST LIKE DRINKING A GLASS OF WATER' http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/africa/ishmael-beah-child-soldier/index.html HORRIFIC USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS RISING IN COLOMBIA, REPORT FINDS

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http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/15/horrific-use-of-child-soldiers-rising-incolombia-report-finds/ SCAVENGING FOR FOOD, SYRIAN CHILDREN WITNESS WAR HTTP://EDITION.CNN.COM/2013/01/06/WORLD/meast/syriachildren/index.html?utm_source=fe edburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_latest+(RSS%3A+Most+Rece nt) SYRIAN CHILDREN'S HORROR STORIES RELEASED; OBAMA PLEDGES SUPPORT http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/25/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html AGENDA TOPIC 2 RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLE ABKHAZIA'S INDEPENDENCE FARCE15

The push for Abkhaz statehood makes a mockery of international law -- and recognition would represent a chilling validation of ethnic cleansing. So-called presidential elections took place last month in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia. The fact that the European Union and the United States rejected them as totally illegitimate, however, did not prevent the proponents of the Abkhaz "cause" from continuing their campaign to achieve recognition as an independent state. Russian ministers, of course, praised the ballot. The international community, however, should not be fooled. The Abkhaz regime exists only because Russia backs it with military might and financial support. Calls for international recognition conveniently overlook how it was established: through the killing of around 10,000 civilians in the 1990s and the expulsion of more than 300,000 people from Abkhazia over the past two decades.

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It is for the international courts to define the legal nature of the atrocities committed by the Abkhaz militia and their Russian allies. But no one should ignore these acts while considering the future of a region that has been forcefully emptied of the overwhelming majority of its population. The 1992-1993 conflict and the 2008 Russian invasion -- together with the constant harassment and intimidation of the non-Abkhaz civilian population -- have radically altered Abkhazia's demographics. According to Soviet census data, ethnic Abkhaz comprised 17.8 percent of the 525,000 residents of Abkhazia in 1989, while ethnic Georgians accounted for 45.7 percent, numbering roughly 240,000. By 2003, the ethnic Georgian population had decreased by 81 percent to just 46,000 (mostly in the Gali and Tkvarcheli districts); Armenians had been reduced by 41 percent, Russians by 69 percent, Greeks by 87 percent, and others (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Estonians, Jews) by 81 percent. In the same period, the Abkhaz were the only ethnic group whose ranks increased -- from the prewar tally of just 17 percent to about half the population. The outrageous process by which this occurred has been denounced as "ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and many others. The Georgian side that participated, mostly in the form of militias, in the war that raged during the early 1990s, was also involved -- like the Abkhaz -- in abject crimes. But since then, Georgia, as a government and society, has held its criminals to account. The militias were dissolved and banned, and their leaders jailed. Nothing similar has happened on the Abkhaz side. Nobody was prosecuted, and criminals were rewarded with fame, medals, and stolen property. Not a single person among the Abkhaz presidential candidates has ever even acknowledged -- let alone condemned -- the ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile, proponents of the Abkhaz cause ask a powerful question: Why not apply the precedent of Kosovo, which achieved international recognition after a violent separation from Serbia, to Abkhazia? But replicating Kosovo (a process of recognition that can hardly be described as flawless) is not applicable. The differences between the two cases are stark. First, the most heinous crimes in Kosovo were committed by Serbians, the adversaries of secession; in Abkhazia, they were committed by the secessionists and their Russian allies. Second, the right of return of refugees to Kosovo was a precondition for self-determination; in Abkhazia, the so-called self-determination is linked with the refusal to allow the return of internally displaced people. Put simply, Kosovo's independence was a way of punishing ethnic cleansing. In Abkhazia, such recognition would represent a chilling validation of ethnic cleansing, and a reward to its authors. And there's more that makes the Kosovo parallel problematic. The processes leading to independence and recognition also could not have been more different. Abkhaz leaders have refused several peace plans proposed by the Georgian government, the United Nations, and Germany. In Kosovo's case, however, it was the Serbian government of Slobodan Milosevic that rejected peace efforts. After the war, Kosovo came under U.N. administration for nine years before its independence was recognized by a vast coalition of countries, including the United States and most European nations. In Abkhazia, international organizations have been denied entry, and its so-called independence has been recognized only by Russia and three other nonEuropean countries, which all receive Russian financial support. But the illegitimacy of Abkhazia's independence is not solely due to the failure of the international community to accept its sovereignty. It stems from deeper problems: the past and current actions of Abkhazia's leaders, their ideology of ethnic supremacy, and the Russian military occupation of its territory.

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The Abkhaz people do need cooperation with Europe, and they deserve to be part of the world community. But the manner in which this happens is crucial. It cannot be done by validating ethnic cleansing, by ignoring the annexation of Georgia's sovereign territory, or by recognizing elections held in a society that is built on apartheid -- where a vast majority of the population has been expelled and most ethnic Georgians still remaining are not allowed to vote. Instead, the international community should insist on the implementation of the 2008 cease-fire agreement between Georgia and Russia brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which stipulates the withdrawal of Russian troops. The next steps must be security guarantees and arrangements provided by international organizations, including ensuring the right of return of all internally displaced people. Anything short of this throws international law in a waste bin. And any election held before the return of the people who have been expelled can only be a tragic farce. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY REBRANDS ITSELF 'STATE OF PALESTINE' AFTER U.N. VOTE http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/07/world/meast/palestinian-namechange/index.html?iref=allsearch 'TRANSITION IS TAKING ITS TIME' IN SOUTH AFRICA, DE KLERK SAYS http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/11/world/africa/south-africa-de-klerk/index.html TENSIONS FLARE OVER FALKLAND ISLANDS http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/25/world/americas/argentina-uk-falklands/index.html RULING PARTY IN CATALONIA REGION LOSES SEATS IN PARLIAMENT http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/25/world/europe/spain-catalonia-elections/index.html

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION-WHO

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 6 - COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES TARGET 6.A + 6.B - MOTIONED IN THIS ORDER HAVE HALTED THE INCIDENCE OF HIV BY 2015 UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV THE PRICE OF BLOOD: CHINA FACES HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC16

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Hong Kong (CNN) -- With a long red AIDS ribbon pinned to his chest, Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang warned of the grave situation of HIV/AIDS in China, calling it "not only a medical issue but also a social challenge." On the week of World AIDS Day, the man expected to replace Wen Jiabao as premier next year, publicly acknowledged the nation's challenges with the epidemic. The disease shows no sign of abating in the world's most populous country. AIDS related-deaths have increased by 8.6 percent to 17,740 deaths, compared with the previous year, according to the country's health figures. And 68,802 new HIV/AIDS cases were reported this year up to October, according to Chinese state media. But some HIV/AIDS advocates say the number of cases is underestimated, in part because many people who have HIV/AIDS may never have been tested to know their status. China has grappled with a checkered HIV history that includes a contaminated blood scandal in a central province and, in years past, denying that AIDS was a problem in the country. But recently, China's elite has appeared to champion HIV/AIDS causes. Peng Liyuan, the wife of China's presumptive next president, Xi Jinping is the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Li, who also heads a commission on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, met with health activists on Monday and vowed action. "Li is very friendly and decisive," said Li Hu, director of HaiHeZhiXing AIDS Volunteer Group, who met with the leader. "There are hopes that we can do a better job with leader's help." In statements published in state-run news media, the vice premier pledged greater support and tax breaks for HIV/AIDS organizations, an expansion of free drug treatment for people with the disease and protection of patients from discrimination at hospitals. But Li's words were of little comfort for a migrant worker who said his family's life was ruined by AIDS. He traveled to Beijing seeking legal redress and spoke to CNN, requesting anonymity due to the sensitive nature of HIV/AIDS issues. "I don't feel anything," said the man, about Li's declaration. He came to the capital from Henan province, where Li had served as governor. His wife gave blood in a blood drive sponsored by local officials in the province in 1997. As a student, she had been urged to give blood because it was "an honor," the man said. The couple learned last year during a prenatal screening that she has AIDS and will soon learn if their one-year-old child is HIV-positive. He says the family faces financial hardships, and his wife is unable to work because of health problems.

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While his wife and child receive free AIDS medication from the government, he estimates spending $6,500 to treat related infections caused by her weakened immune system that are not covered by the program. Their one-year-old baby cannot drink breast milk, due to concerns about HIV infection, he said. Though there's no way to prove that his wife contracted the disease in the blood drives in Henan in the 1990s, he remains convinced and is planning to make his case in Beijing like many others from the province have. In 1998, Li became the governor of Henan, one of the most populous provinces in China, which was also one of the areas most devastated by HIV/AIDS. During his stint, there were criticisms related to an HIV/AIDS outbreak linked to local blood banks. State-run media attributed the disease's spread to"illegal blood sales and contaminated blood transfusions." The central government began tightening controls over the business in the mid-1990s once more was known about HIV and how the virus is spread. While most of the infections happened before Li arrived in Henan, he faced major criticism. "We have been criticizing him over the blood scandal in Henan, which many people died in silence without getting medical help," said Wan Yanhai, a former government health official turned AIDS advocate. Wan was arrested in 2002 in Beijing after publishing a government report on the spread of AIDS in Henan. "I do believe [Li] has done some good things, if we look at the record of him as a governor and party head," Wan said. But he added there was silence during Li's years in Henan. During Li's tenure there, journalists trying to write about HIV/AIDS were detained, activists and doctors were sent away, Wan said. He left China in 2010, citing harassment by authorities. Li's recent outreach to the HIV/AIDS community was welcomed by Li Hu, an activist based in Tianjin, who called it "definitely a boost for our work. Policies can only be well executed with their supervision." In recent years, China has made a series of progressive reforms. It lifted a ban prohibiting foreigners with HIV from visiting the country in 2010 -- the same year as the United States. China also promised antiretroviral treatment for all patients with HIV in 2003. A UNAIDS report released last week lauded China for increasing the number of people receiving antiretroviral treatment by 50% last year. Almost a decade ago, the Chinese government formed a policy called "Four frees, one care" that would give free blood tests for those with HIV, free education for AIDS orphans, free consultation and screening tests, and free antiretroviral therapy for pregnant women. But hundreds protested in Henan in August, calling for full implementation of the government's HIV/AIDS policies across the province. GATES DONATES $750 MILLION TO FIGHT AIDS, TB AND MALARIA http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/26/health/switzerland-gates-donation/index.html TALK OF 'CURE' AT HISTORIC AIDS CONFERENCE http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/23/health/hiv-aids-conference/index.html HILLARY CLINTON UNVEILS 'BLUEPRINT' TO COMBAT AIDS http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/29/health/us-clinton-aids/index.html

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THE FACES OF HIV/AIDS: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-899852 AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGET 8.E IN COOPERATION WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL DRUGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

PROVIDE

ACCESS

TO

LARGEST-EVER TOBACCO STUDY FINDS 'URGENT NEED' FOR POLICY CHANGE17 About half the men in numerous developing nations use tobacco, and women in those regions are taking up smoking at an earlier age than they used to, according to what is being called the largest-ever international study on tobacco use. The study, which covered enough representative samples to estimate tobacco use among 3 billion people, "demonstrates an urgent need for policy change in low- and middle-income countries," said lead researcher Gary Giovino, whose report was published in the British medical journal The Lancet. The figures bolster statements by the World Health Organization that while much of the industrialized world, including the United States, has seen a substantial reduction in smoking in recent years, the opposite trend is under way in parts of the developing world. The WHO warns that "if current trends continue, it will cause up to one billion deaths in the 21st century." The new study, the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), focused on countries in which smoking is known to be a growing problem. "The burden of tobacco use is moving," says Giovino, who formerly oversaw the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The tobacco epidemic takes different forms in different countries," he said in an interview with CNN, pointing out that chewing tobacco and other smokeless forms are part of the problem. "But manufactured cigarettes are dominating." Giovino now runs the University at Buffalo's Department of Community Health and Health Behavior in Buffalo, New York. The study, conducted between 2008 and 2010, found that across 14 developing nations, 49% of men and 11% of women used tobacco. Most of them smoked -- 41% of men and 5% of women. Numbers were highest in Russia, where 60% of men and 22% of women used tobacco; China, where 53% of men and 2% of women were tobacco users; Ukraine, where 50% of men and 11% of women used tobacco, and Turkey, where 48% of men and 15% of women used tobacco. In some countries, smoking rates may now be even higher than they were in 2010, WHO officials say. "One place where we know it's gone up, unfortunately, is Egypt -- as a result of the revolution," said Edouard Tursan D'Espaignet of WHO''s tobacco control program.

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The GATS study found 38% of men and less than 1% of women smoked in Egypt as of 2010. However, government regulations limiting smoking in certain places fell apart after Hosni Mubarak's regime was ousted last year, and "the tobacco industry walked in very, very aggressively" to market its product amid the chaos, said Tursan D'Espaignet. "We are hearing things like 'Smoking is a way to show you're free from the previous regime,'" he said. The other nations in the new study are India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay. In general, marketing is a central reason smoking is on the rise in poorer nations, says Tursan D'Espaignet. "In many countries, particularly eastern Europe and China, the market is probably saturated" among men, he said. "We can see the tobacco industry is targeting young people, and they're targeting women." While previous studies done in several countries found that women who smoke generally start later than men, the GATS study found the opposite. "Alarmingly, this study shows that -- in most countries we surveyed -- age of smoking initiation for women might now be approaching the young ages at which men begin," the report says. Still, the overwhelming majority of tobacco use worldwide is by men. "Industry marketing campaigns traditionally have targeted men," says Giovino. Also, "social norms tend to make smoking socially less acceptable -- and even unacceptable in many countries -among women." But tobacco companies have succeeded in breaking those norms in some Western nations, and are trying to do so in low- and middle-income countries, he said. Big tobacco is also extending its reach into new markets, such as Africa, Tursan D'Espaignet said. Countries with weaker or poorer governments have a tougher time implementing the steps it takes to stop the spread of smoking. Tobacco companies are "targeting countries that have less capacity to withstand the onslaught," said Tursan D'Espaignet. Phillip Morris International, one of the world' s biggest tobacco companies, gave CNN a statement saying tobacco products "are generally subject to extensive regulation," including in Egypt, where its products have been sold since 1975. The company also emphasized that it "is firmly opposed to smoking by minors." Imperial Tobacco, another giant in the industry, said in a statement, "We seek opportunities to develop our business in existing markets worldwide where there's a legitimate demand for our products. We sell our products in accordance with local market regulations and our own international marketing standards. We employ the same responsible standards in our operations in Africa and Asia, for instance, as we do in any Western market. "The risks associated with smoking are well known worldwide and enable people to choose whether or not to smoke." The company added that its presence in Egypt is "negligible." British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, the other two of the so-called "big four," did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did the Tobacco Information Service, which functions as a trade association.

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The WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which opened for signature in 2003 and has been adapted by more than 170 countries, has led to "some very, very strong measures for tobacco control around the world," Tursan D'Espaignet said. The framework calls for taxes to reduce tobacco sales, regulations limiting where smoking can take place, tough rules on labeling and packaging, and numerous other steps. The GATS study included the latest figures from national studies done in the United States and Britain, in order to show a contrast between the industrialized world and developing nations. In the United States, 19% of adults are smokers, a number that has been steadily decreasing, according to the CDC. A new report published this week by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh notes that smoking has dropped from 43% of the U.S. adult population in 1964. But tobacco dependence still causes more than 440,000 deaths in the United States each year. "Furthermore, the marked slowing of declines in adult smoking prevalence over the past decade creates a renewed sense of urgency. It is time to reaffirm the commitment to ending the tobacco epidemic," says the Sebelius-Koh report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. When it comes to youth smoking in the United States, the rate of decline has basically stopped over the last couple of years, according to a new study from the CDC. It's a reflection of "a disturbing decline in state investments in comprehensive tobacco controlling programs," a CDC official told Time. Still, the WHO's Tursan D'Espaignet says the United States is "taking strong measures" to cut smoking rates -- despite the fact that the U.S. government has not ratified the international framework convention. In their report, Sebelius and Koh note than in 2009, the government directed $200 million in stimulus funds to support local anti-tobacco initiatives, and in 2011 the CDC awarded more than $100 million for tobacco control and other wellness programs. In several nations, efforts to get smokers to quit are showing a great deal of success. One showing "enormous reductions" is Australia, says Tursan D'Espaignet. This week, Australia's high court upheld a rule that tobacco products must be in plain packaging without logos and bear graphic health warnings. Other success stories include New Zealand, Ireland, and Britain, said Tusan D'Espaignet. Two of the countries in the new GATS study -- Turkey and Uruguay -- are also showing improvement due to such measures, he said. The study got some of its funding from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's philanthropy, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Bloomberg Philanthropies says that in 2007, it supported the WHO's efforts "to package and promote six proven policies to reduce tobacco use worldwide. These strategies -- including protecting people from tobacco smoke, offering help to quit, raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco through warning labels and public education campaigns, enforcing tobacco advertising bans, and raising the price of tobacco products -- are proven to reduce smoking rates. " Since that initiative began in 2007, "21 countries have passed 100% smoke-free laws, the percentage of people protected from second-hand smoke has increased 400%, and almost four billion people worldwide are now protected by at least one of the six proven tobacco control policies," the group said.

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LACK OF SOAP MEANS ILLNESS, DEATH FOR MILLIONS OF CHILDREN http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/15/health/cnnheroes-soap-hygiene/index.html 'LIFESTYLE' CANCERS INCREASING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/04/lifestyle-cancers-increasing-in-developing-countries/

UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION-UNESCO

AND

CULTURAL

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION TARGET 2.A ENSURE THAT, BY 2015, CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE, WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE A FULL COURSE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING

SAVING CHILDREN FROM CAMBODIA'S TRASH HEAP18

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Walking down a street in Cambodia's capital city, Phymean Noun finished her lunch and tossed her chicken bones into the trash. Seconds later, she watched in horror as several children fought to reclaim her discarded food. Noun stopped to talk with them. After hearing their stories of hardship, she knew she couldn't ignore their plight. "I must do something to help these children get an education," she recalls thinking. "Even though they don't have money and live on the sidewalk, they deserve to go to school." Six years after that incident, Noun is helping many of Phnom Penh's poorest children do just that. Within weeks, she quit her job and started an organization to give underprivileged children an education. Noun spent $30,000 of her own money to get her first school off the ground. In 2004, her organization -- the People Improvement Organization (PIO) -- opened a school at Phnom Penh's largest municipal trash dump, where children are a large source of labor. Today, Noun provides 240 kids from the trash dump a free education, food, health services and an opportunity to be a child in a safe environment. It is no easy task. Hundreds of them risk their lives every day working to support themselves and their families. "I have seen a lot of kids killed by the garbage trucks," she recalls. Children as young as 7 scavenge hours at a time for recyclable materials. They make cents a day selling cans, metals and plastic bags. Noun recruits the children at the dump to attend her organization because, she says, "I don't want them to continue picking trash and living in the dump. I want them to have an opportunity to learn." Growing up during the Pol Pot regime, Noun faced unimaginable challenges. "There were no schools during Pol Pot's regime," she recalls. "Everyone had to work in the fields. My mother was very smart. She told them that she didn't have an education. That was how she survived. If they knew she was educated, they would have killed her." Noun's mother died of cancer when Phymean was 15. Phymean's sister fled to a refugee camp, leaving her young daughter in Phymean's care. "When my mom passed away, my life was horrible, " says Noun. "It was very sad because there was only my niece who was 3 years old at that time." Yet Noun was determined to finish high school. That dedication paid off, and after graduating she spent the next decade working with various aid organizations. "I tell the children my story and about the importance of education," she said. "I'm their role model." Some of the children who attend her school continue to work in the dump to support themselves and their families. Without an education, she said, these children would be vulnerable to traffickers or continue to be caught in the cycle of poverty. "We are trying to provide them skills that they can use in the future," Noun said. "Even though we are poor and struggling and don't have money, we can go to school. I tell them not to give up hope." Noun has even bigger plans for them. "These children are our next generation and our country depends on them. They are our future leaders." BUSH CALLS FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR AFGHAN KIDS http://edition.cnn.com/2002/fyi/teachers.ednews/03/21/bush.afghanistan.schools/index.html?ire f=allsearch

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HELPING AFRICA HELP ITSELF http://edition.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/05/15/execed.african/index.html?iref=allsearch DESPITE DEADLY RISKS, AFGHAN GIRLS TAKE BRAVE FIRST STEP http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/26/world/asia/cnnheroes-afghanschoolgirls/index.html?iref=allsearch LESSON UNLEARNED http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/time/magazine/2000/0313/china.education.html?iref=allsearch

AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGET 8.F + INSIGHT IN COOPERATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, MAKE AVAILABLE BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SEVEN WAYS MOBILE PHONES HAVE CHANGED LIVES IN AFRICA19

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- A little over a decade ago there were about 100,000 phone lines in Nigeria, mostly landlines run by the state-owned telecoms behemoth, NITEL. Today NITEL is dead, and Nigeria has close to 100 million mobile phone lines, making it Africa's largest telecoms market, according to statistics by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Across the rest of the continent the trends are similar: between 2000 and 2010, Kenyan mobile phone firm Safaricom saw its subscriber base increase in excess of 500-fold. In 2010 alone the

19

Seven ways mobile phones have changed lives in Africa

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number of mobile phone users in Rwanda grew by 50%, figures from the country's regulatory agency show. During the early years of mobile in Africa, the Short Messaging Service (SMS) was at the heart of the revolution. Today the next frontier for mobile use in Africa is the internet. "Mobile is fast becoming the PC of Africa," says Osibo Imhoitsike, market coordinator for SubSaharan Africa at Norwegian firm Opera, whose mobile browser is enjoying an impressive uptake on the continent. "In fact there isn't really anything more personal than a mobile phone nowadays." Last October, for the first time ever, the number of Nigerians accessing the internet via their mobiles surpassed the number of desktop internet users, figures from Statcounter show. The trend has continued since then. Most of those devices will be low-end Nokia phones, tens of millions of which have already been sold on the continent. The more expensive "smartphones" are however also increasing in popularity, as prices drop. Blackberry's market share has been rising in the developing world, bucking the trend in Europe and North America. Google, for its part, plans to sell 200 million of its Android phones in Africa and it is estimated that by 2016 there will be a billion mobile phones on the continent. In 2007, President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, said: "In 10 short years, what was once an object of luxury and privilege, the mobile phone, has become a basic necessity in Africa." Below are seven ways that mobile phones have transformed the continent: BANKING M-PESA is a mobile money transfer service launched by Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile operator and Vodafone, in 2007. Five years later M-PESA provides services to 15 million Kenyans (more than a third of the population) and serves as conduit for a fifth of the country's GDP. In Kenya, Sudan and Gabon half or more of adults used mobile money, according to a survey by the Gates Foundation and the World Bank. The runaway success of M-PESA in Kenya is inspiring similar initiatives across the continent, from South Africa to Nigeria to Tunisia, as governments struggle to extend banking services to large numbers of the population -- across sub-Saharan Africa only one in five adults own bank accounts. Many Africans now use mobile money to pay their bills and airtime, buy goods and make payments to individuals, remittances from relatives living abroad are also largely done via mobile banking. ACTIVISM One lesson from the 2011 uprisings across North Africa was that mobile phones, with the infinite opportunities they offer for connection and communication, are able to transform ordinary citizens disenchanted by their governments, into resistance fighters. Realizing this, the beleaguered Mubarak regime successfully put pressure on Egypt's mobile phone networks to pull the plugs, in a bid to slow down the tempo of opposition activity. And so on January 28, 2011 mobile phone networks in Egypt went dead. Three years earlier, in the aftermath of bloody elections in Kenya, citizens were able to report violent occurrences via text messages to a server (via the Ushaidi platform) that was viewable by the rest of the world as they happened. Across the continent mobile phones are also bringing unprecedented levels of openness and transparency to the electoral process, empowering citizens from Cairo to Khartoum to Dakar to Lagos. EDUCATION

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Nokia capitalized on the growing popularity of social networking in South Africa to launch MoMath, a mathematics teaching tool that targets users of the instant messaging platform Mxit. Mxit is South Africa's most popular social media platform, with more than 10 million active users in the country, the company says. The potential for transforming the continent's dysfunctional educational system is immense, as mobile phones -- cheaper to own and easier to run than PCs -- gain ground as tools for delivering teaching content. It is hoped that mediating education through social networking will help reduce the significant numbers of school-age African children who are not receiving any formal education. ENTERTAINMENT A 2009 survey found that "entertainment and information" were the most popular activities for which mobile phones are used in Nigeria, in particular for dialing into favorite radio shows, voting in reality shows, downloading and sharing songs, photos and videos, as well as tweeting. However companies are creating mobile-only platforms targeted for this market. Africa now teems with online platforms like Kulahappy (a popular online Kenyan "entertainment channel" developed for the mobile screen) and AfriNolly, which bills itself as "African movies in your pocket." Nigeria's mobile music industry (covering everything from mobile downloads to ringtone and caller-tune subscriptions) is now a multimillion-dollar industry. Interestingly, Lithuanian mobile social networking site, Eskimi, recently became the second most visited site in Nigeria, after Facebook, and is in the top 10 bracket in several other African countries. Half of the site's seven million-plus active users are Nigerian. DISASTER MANAGEMENT Mobiles have been finding innovative uses in refugee camps, allowing displaced persons to reconnect with family and loved ones. An NGO, Refugees United, has teamed up with mobile phone companies to create a database for refugees to register their personal details. The information available on the database allows them to search for people they've lost contact with. South Africa's 2008 xenophobic attacks inspired the launch of SMS emergency reporting and relief systems. AGRICULTURE Mobile phones have made a huge difference in the lives of farmers in a continent where the agriculture sector sis one of the largest employers. Most of these people will be "smallholder farmers," without access to financing or technology. By serving as platforms for sharing weather information, market prices, and micro-insurance schemes, mobile phones are allowing Africa's farmers to make better decisions, translating into higher-earning potentials. Farmers are able to send a text message to find out crop prices in places thousands of kilometers away. As far back as 2003, Kenya's Agricultural Commodities Exchange partnered with mobile operator Safaricom to launch SokoniSMS64, a text-messaging platform to provide pricing information to farmers. M-Farm also offers a similar service, while the iCow is a mobile app billed as "the world's first mobile phone cow calendar." It's an SMS and voice service that allows dairy farmers to track their cows gestation, acting in effect as a veterinary midwife. Farmers are also given tips on breeding and nutrition.

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HEALTH A simple text-messaging solution was all 28-year-old Ghanaian doctoral student, Bright Simons needed for his innovative plan to tackle counterfeit medicine in African countries. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 30% of drugs supplied in developing countries are fake. In 2009, nearly 100 Nigerian babies died after they were given teething medicine that contained a solvent usually found in antifreeze. Simons' pioneering idea was to put unique codes within scratch cards on medicine packaging that buyers can send via SMS to a designated number to find out if the drug is genuine or not. The system is now being used by several countries in Africa and rolled out to places such as Asia where there are similar problems with counterfeit drugs. In South Africa there's Impilo, a service that allows people to find healthcare providers anywhere in the country 24 hours a day, using their mobile phones. Mobile phones are going to play an increasingly important role in mediating the provision of better healthcare to the citizens of African countries. Phone companies are realizing that mobiles are highly effective -- and potentially lucrative -- for the dissemination of health and lifestyle tips, and reminders for doctors' appointments. In June 2011 a consortium known as the mHealth Alliance organized a Mobile Health Summit -touted as Africa's first -- in Cape Town. The Alliance describes itself as a "[champion of] the use of mobile technologies to improve health throughout the world." CES KEYNOTE: YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY ARE 'BORN MOBILE'20

Las Vegas (CNN) -- Mobile technology is no longer limited to laptops, smartphones and tablets. It's seeping into every corner of our lives, including television and movies, cars, the workplace, health care, education and eventually our bodies. This expansion of mobile, and its next generation of highly mobile tech users, were the subject of Monday's Consumer Electronics Show keynote. Delivered by chip maker Qualcomm's chief executive Paul Jacobs, the talk marked the official kickoff of the show, which opens its doors Tuesday morning. The CES keynote address was previously handled by Microsoft, a company whose products are instantly familiar to consumers around the world. Successor Qualcomm isn't a household name,

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even though it says it has shipped 11 billion chips in its 27 years and its mobile processors power the mobile devices you use everyday. The challenge for Qualcomm on Monday was to illustrate how its technology is relevant to regular consumers. The resulting talk was as scattered and entertaining as its rooster of special guest stars, which included "Sesame Street's" Big Bird, Archbishop Desmond Tutu (via video), filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski, "Star Trek" actress Alice Eve and pop band Maroon 5. But the biggest guest star for this tech audience may have been Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who ran out on stage to giddily show off three new Windows 8 products. The event kicked off with a skit featuring young actors playing stereotypes of the most annoying people you've ever been stuck behind in a Starbucks line. An OMG-spouting popular girl, a gamer geek who talks like a surfer and a Silicon Valley wannabe entrepreneur. What tied these characters together was the theme of the event: they were all "born mobile." The primarily mobile phenomenon is international. According to Jacobs, 84% of people worldwide say they can't go a day without their mobile device. The smartphone interface is so commonplace, people now want it on their other devices. The Android mobile operating system is already expanding beyond smartphones and tablets to smart TVs, cameras and Google's Project Glass smart glasses. Qualcomm's chips have an even broader reach, appearing in smart TVs, game consoles, home automation devices and even cars. During its keynote Qualcomm showed how its technology can be used to enable wireless charging for electric vehicles. The tech industry assumes that eventually, everything will be connected to the Internet, with cars, household appliances and mobile devices all communicating with each other. The concept, called the "Internet of Things," has been kicking around for many years, but a recent boom in low-cost sensors and popular gadgets like the Nest smart thermostat have led to more gadgets that successfully add Web connectivity. For example, wearable health monitors could be used to notify you or your doctor as soon as something is wrong with your vital signs. "It's really going to empower us by giving us more information about ourselves and our environment," said Jacobs, who said most people look at their phones 150 times a day. Even in the present, mobile phones are changing people's lives and behaviors. In developing countries, where a phone is many people's first and only device, phones are being used to deliver basic heath care. Augmented reality apps, like those powered by Qualcomm's Vuforia platform, are being used to help children learn to read. Qualcomm also used the keynote to announce two new processors, the Snapdragon 600 and 800. Most people who will benefit from the faster, more energy-efficient chips probably won't know their names. But with this keynote, Qualcomm hopes to make a name for itself as a innovative company powering the mobile tech of the future. SOCIAL MEDIA MAKE US MORE HONEST http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/13/opinion/hancock-technology-lying/index.html?iref=allsearch CYBORG ANTHROPOLOGIST: WE CAN ALL BE SUPERHUMAN http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/05/tech/cyborg-anthropology-ambercase/index.html?iref=allsearch

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WILL TWITTER WAR BECOME THE NEW NORM? http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/15/tech/social-media/twitter-war-gazaisrael/index.html?iref=allsearch SYRIA TESTS INTERNET FREEDOM THEORY http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/03/30/syria.internet.revolution/index.html?iref=all search

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL-UNHRC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN TARGET 3.A ELIMINATE GENDER DISPARITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, PREFERABLY BY 2005, AND IN ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION NO LATER THAN 2015 CHALLENGES OF BEING A WOMAN IN INDIA21

Jhajjar, India (CNN) -- One-month-old baby girl Khushi, which means "happiness" in Hindi, would not have been alive had her mother, Sumanjeet, given in to pressure from some relatives and neighbors. "They would cry and yell, 'What are you doing giving birth to a girl? Push her off the roof of the building, kill her! Why are you keeping her?'" the 25-year-old mother says.

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Sumanjeet says people kept telling her to get an ultrasound check and abort all four of her daughters. They told her she wouldn't have enough money for a suitable dowry. Although Sumanjeet wasn't quite sure how she was going to raise them, she knew it was a crime to get rid of them. "Why are they killing girls, while they're still in the womb? It's a sin for which they'll have to be answerable to God. Small, cute girls like a doll. They kill her in the womb? It's a sin," Sumanjeet weeps. The brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi and the wave of outrage that followed brought to light the daily suffering of many Indian women. Thousands of people took to the streets to protest not just rape but the discrimination many women in India often have to live with throughout their lives. A Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll last year ranked India as the world's fourth most dangerous country for a woman, behind only Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan. Even though the practice is outlawed, 300,000 to 600,000 female fetuses are aborted every year in India because of the preference for boys, according to a 2011 study by The Lancet. And the discrimination that begins while in the womb continues throughout a girl's life. Women's rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Kirti Singh says there is a marked difference between how many parents treat their daughters and their sons. She says girls aren't given the same kind of food, they're not educated in the same manner, and they're only raised to become someone's wife. "From the time they are born -- or not born -- and continuing till late in life when they become wives or mothers, it's a vicious cycle . of discrimination, and violence keeps on continuing." Sumanjeet says she sees it all the time. "They send boys to good schools, they give them good food, nice clothes to wear. They treat them well. They say, 'Oh, it's my son.' To the daughter they say, 'Get the cow dung, sweep the floors. What will you do with an education?'" Nearly half of India's girls are married off before the age of 18. Sumanjeet herself was forced to marry a man 15 years older than her when she was just 12 years old. She says she didn't object to the marriage, as she had barely understood what was going on. Girls are also seen as a financial liability. Once they get married, they leave the house and are often required to take hefty dowries along with them which sometimes can cost a family's entire savings. The practice is banned by the government, but it's still as common as ever. Once married, many women are subjected to domestic violence. A 2012 UNICEF study found more than half of Indian adolescent males think it is justifiable to beat a wife under certain circumstances. Outside the household, crimes against women in India are also on the rise, and the evidence is shocking. In July 2012, a young female student was molested and groped by a group of at least 18 men for 45 minutes in the northeastern state of Assam. People watched and filmed the incident, but no one helped. In September 2012, a 16-year-old student was gang raped by eight men, and her father committed suicide out of shame. Just 20 minutes from Jhajjar, a mother of four was allegedly dragged from her home and raped by five men just a month ago. She says they dragged her out of bed to a corner of the cowshed and took turns raping her. They only went away when her children woke up. But while the Delhi gang rape caught the world's attention, this case went unnoticed.

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"The difference is that we are poor. We are not heard. When we go to the police station, they just do some formality. We are not being heard. We want justice," she said. One of the men she identified has been arrested, police said. The other got away. According to government data, more than 24,000 cases of rape were reported in 2011. Most are never reported because of the stigma surrounding rape, but after the gang rape what was a taboo subject in India is now on the front pages and leading TV news. Indian women, in some ways, have also made some strides. Literacy rates have gone up, maternal mortality rates have gone down, and millions of women have joined the workforce. Leaders like the President of the National Advisory Council and the widow of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi are role models who show that women can rise to great heights. But they are the exception. Authorities acknowledge that action is needed and say they are taking steps to try to better protect women. The Home Minister said India plans to recruit more female police officers. Currently only 7% of the Indian police force is female. Helplines have been set up and at least one state, Haryana, is soon putting up a website naming and shaming convicted rapists. A government task force has been set up to look into what more can be done to make Delhi safer. A number of fast track courts have also been established because of the December 16 gangrape, exclusively for cases of sexual assault and rape. But women's rights activists say that when discrimination begins even before birth, change will not come easily. MALALA, OTHERS ON FRONT LINES IN FIGHT FOR WOMEN http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/lemmon-malala-girls-rights/index.html?iref=allsearch WHY MADAM PRESIDENT IN SOUTH KOREA MAY NOT BE GENDER GAME CHANGER http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/21/opinion/female-president-koreagender/index.html?iref=allsearch TO EMPOWER AFRICAN WOMEN, TURN WORDS INTO ACTION http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/08/otas.africa.gender.inequality/index.html?iref=allsea rch COMMENTARY: 'EDUCATE A WOMAN, CREATE A NATION' http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/03/13/powell.women/index.html?iref=allsearch AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 9 - IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FURTHER? LGBT RIGHTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LINK TO HIV/AIDS UGANDA MAKING LIFE TOUGH FOR NGOS, LGBT RIGHTS22

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Ive interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses of human rights abuses in Uganda, but I was genuinely surprised at the fear I heard recently when I met with activists in the country. If you preach human rights, you are anti-development, an economic saboteur, a colleague told me. You arent going to talk about land, oil, and good governance. This is just the beginning, but the tensions have been accumulating. Uganda has made the news in recent months over issues like the Ebola virus,Joseph Kony, and the notorious anti-homosexuality law known as the kill the gays bill. Less-well-known has been its longstanding patterns of torture and mistreatment of detainees by security forces. President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement have been in power for more than 25 years, with a 2005 constitutional amendment lifting presidential term limits and permitting him to run and win in 2006, and then again, heavily assisted by off-budget spending from state coffers, in 2011. Since 2011, Museveni has faced increasing criticism for economic woes, corruption, unemployment, rising HIV rates and deteriorating health and education services. In April 2011, demonstrators walked to work to protest raising food and fuel prices. The military and police took to the streets, using live ammunition and killing at least nine bystanders and beating journalistsdocumenting the events. The government has routinely blocked demonstrations in the last few years, contending that they threaten public safety. The president appears to be preparing to run again in 2016 which would be his 30th year in office and it seems no coincidence that in the wake of growing public grievances, the ruling partys officials are scrutinizing nongovernmental organizations and the impact they have on public perceptions of governance and management of public funds. Organizations working on human rights, land acquisitions, oil revenue transparency, and other sensitive issues are the main targets, and apparently viewed as a threat to the administrations interests. Ugandas laws reflect this analysis. The intelligence agencies are legally mandated to monitor civil society, and the presidents office has a role in reviewing requests to do research, via the Uganda Council on Science and Technology. Over the last two years, Ugandan officials have reportedly closed civil society meetings and workshops, reprimanded organizations for their research, demanded retractions or apologies, and confiscated t-shirts, calendars and training materials with messaging about political change and peoples power. The government board mandated to regulate civil society recently recommended dissolving one group unless it apologized for bringing the person of the president into disrepute and has stated that working in coalitions is unlawful. At the same time the governments hostility to, and harassment of, Ugandas lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community continues unabated. Government officials demonize homosexuality, deliberately misinform the public, and stir hatred. One minister uses the

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promotion of homosexuality a spurious claim as justification for his campaign against any group seeking to protect the rights of LGBT people. He told me that the pursuit of LGBT rights is a Western conspiracy aimed at destroying Uganda. While homosexual sex is illegal in Uganda, it is not illegal to discuss LGBT issues, despite the deeply misguided anti-gay bill still pending before parliament. Groups focused on fighting for the rights of LGBT people therefore have every legal right to register and operate. But in practice, that remains far from possible. While many interpret the governments increasing focus on homosexuality as a populist strategy to gain support, it is still profoundly dangerous for a community that is vulnerable to harassment and violence. Donors need to ask tough questions about where Uganda is heading, given the deteriorating situation for civil society. Furthermore, in todays Uganda, government institutions have little independence to perform their constitutionally mandated jobs, corruption is rife, and protecting the ruling party and the president from criticism has become more important than citizens right to information. Fundamental democratic guarantees such as freedom of expression and association should not take a back seat to security interests. Ultimately, this is the lesson of the Arab spring. Until Ugandan civil society is free to research, publish, speak out, debate and advocate for change without fear, durable security will remain out of reach. CLINTON, OBAMA PROMOTE GAY RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/06/world/us-world-gay-rights/index.html?iref=allsearch MARIELA CASTRO VISITS NEW YORK; ADDRESSES GAY RIGHTS ISSUES http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us/new-york-mariela-castro/index.html?iref=allsearch GAY SCOUT'S REQUEST FOR EAGLE RANK REJECTED http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/08/us/california-gay-eagle-scout/index.html RETIREMENT OPTIONS GROW AS GAY BOOMERS FIND MORE MAINSTREAM ACCEPTANCE http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/09/health/lgbt-retirement/index.html?iref=allsearch

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME-UNEP

MDG 7 - ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 7.A INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 7.C HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION.

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WAS RIO+20 A FAILURE OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP?23

(CNN) -- I was happy to return to Rio, this beautiful city which I have visited several times. Twenty years after the first Earth Summit, I came to Rio, like many people from all over the world, to put the world on a different pathway -- one leading to sustainable development. But, the leaders gathered here came without an intergenerational vision and they failed to rise to the challenge; they did not break their ties with the old ways of doing things -- ways that are proved to be unsustainable and inequitable. If the government representatives had heard the heartfelt yearning for change, for a vision of the future that the broad base of men, women -- and even children -- shared during numerous side events, and in the Sustainable Development Dialogues organized by the Brazilian government, perhaps they would have given their negotiators a stronger mandate: A mandate to create the future we want and which the earth needs. Unfortunately these voices were not incorporated into the declaration text and many leave for home frustrated and angry. I urge those who are disappointed by the lack of urgency and commitment to channel their frustration positively to work on a parallel pathway to fill the gaps left by the Rio text and to deliver the futures we all need. I had the pleasure of participating in numerous events during the conference where we discussed the role of women's empowerment in sustainable development, the importance of making real progress on food and nutrition security and the need to improve access to sustainable energy for the poorest. Underlying all of these discussions was the importance of upholding human rights and not backsliding on any existing commitments, while striving for a more equitable world. The Rio declaration does set some important processes in train, like developing Sustainable Development Goals, which address all three dimensions of sustainable development: Environmental, social and economic. These should be action oriented, aspirational and measurable, so that they complement the Millennium Development Goals. Likewise, processes have been established to strengthen environmental governance at the international level and to make progress on financing for sustainable development.

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The current declaration reaffirms the Rio Principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, it worries me that negotiations revealed a desire by some to step back from established commitments and principles. The restating of these commitments is therefore considered a success, only because these principles and values were under threat. More seriously, the backsliding on reproductive rights -- first established in 1994 at the Cairo Conference on Population and Development and reiterated at the Beijing Women's Conference -is simply not acceptable, as highlighted by numerous women leaders in their statements to the Rio Summit. Arising from the failure of political leadership here in Rio, our hope is that people everywhere will accept that we all have to take responsibility and mobilize ourselves. Helped by social media and easier communication across the globe, we can make sure that the world we pass on to our children and grandchildren is safe, equitable, prosperous and sustainable. I was encouraged as I listened to many heads of state at the summit, who stressed their desire for a more concrete outcome. But this desire came too late: They should have engaged earlier in the process, they could have seized the moment and given stronger leadership. This possibility of a once in a generation moment passed us by and we will regret it. Happily the lack of political leadership was countered by the incredible vitality, determination and commitment of civil society -- from young people, women, trade unions, grassroots communities, faith-based organizations and the private sector. The legacy of Rio+20 will not just be the text of the Declaration hopefully it will be the mobilization of people to build the future they desire.

ON THE FRONT LINE OF CLIMATE CHANGE: FIVE CITIES BATTLING FLOODS, HEAT AND STORMS http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/14/world/map-climate-change-c40/index.html BATTLING TO PRESERVE NIGERIA'S RAINFOREST http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/09/01/nigeria.rainforest.biodiveristy/index.html?iref =allsearch CNN FACT CHECK: OBAMA AND ROMNEY'S ENERGY POLICIES http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/27/politics/fact-check-energy/index.html?iref=allsearch RWANDA MAKES 'LANDMARK' PLEDGE TO RESCUE ENVIRONMENT http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/10/rwanda.rainforest.initiative/index.html?iref=al lsearch CHINA'S GROWING WATER CRISIS24

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What is the biggest challenge that China faces? Corruption, the gap between the rich and poor, and the rapidly aging population often top the list of answers to this question. Yet a closer look suggests that the greatest threat may well be lack of access to clean water. From "cancer villages" to violent protests to rising food prices, diminishing water supplies are exerting a profound and harmful effect on the Chinese people as well as on the country's capacity to continue to prosper economically. While much of the challenge remains within China, spillover effects - such as the rerouting of transnational rivers and a push to acquire arable land abroad - are also being felt well outside the country's borders. China's leaders have acknowledged the severity of the challenge and have adopted a number of policies to address their growing crisis. However, their efforts have fallen woefully short, as they fail to include the fundamental reforms necessary to turn the situation around. Meanwhile domestic pressures, as well as international concerns, continue to mount. Development Run Amok China's water story begins with a challenging reality: The country's per capita water resources just exceeded more than one-quarter that of the world average, and the distribution of those resources throughout the country is highly uneven. Northern China is home to approximately 40 percent of the country's total population and almost half its agricultural land, and produces more than 50 percent of GDP. But it receives only 12 percent of total precipitation. Southern China, in contrast, receives 80 percent of China's total precipitation, yet skyrocketing levels of water pollution dramatically reduce the south's natural advantage. The spectacular economic growth that has made China the envy of the world has only exacerbated the challenge. Resources, particularly water, are consumed without consideration for future demand. Industry and agriculture are notoriously profligate water consumers: Industry, which accounts for about one-quarter of China's total water consumption, uses anywhere from four to 10 times more water per unit of GDP as other competitive economies. Water used for energy is a singularly important drain on China's scarce resources. By far, the largest portion of China's industrial water use is devoted to energy: The process of mining, processing and consuming coal alone accounts for almost 20 percent of all water consumed nationally. Hydropower raises the bar even further. Already the largest producer of hydropower in the world, China plans to triple hydropower capacity by 2020. According to Ma Jun, the director of the Chinese NGO Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, many Chinese rivers simply won't be running in 2020 if China meets its hydropower capacity goals.

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Agriculture, which accounts for 62 percent of China's total water consumption, also takes a serious toll on China's water supply. Almost two-thirds of China's arable land lies in the perennially dry north, and irrigation practices in China continue to be inefficient, with less than half of the water used for irrigation actually reaching crops. Even municipalities suffer from serious water wastage: About 20 percent of urban water consumption is lost through leaky pipes. China's goal of urbanizing 400 million people by 2030 means that the water challenge will likely only increase. Urban, middle class residents - with water-consuming appliances, homes with lawns to water and a fondness for golf courses - use 300 percent more water than their rural counterparts. China's widespread pollution adds another dimension to the country's water crisis. More than 90 percent of southern China's water withdrawal comes from surface water, but in the first half of 2010, almost a quarter of China's surface water was so polluted that it was not even usable for industry, and less than half of the total supplies of water were found to be drinkable. For decades, factories and municipalities have dumped untreated waste directly into streams, rivers and coastal waters. The Shifting Landscape China's economic growth, inefficiencies and wastage in water usage are transforming the geography and resource base of the country. First, the sheer amount of available water is declining. During the period from 2000 to 2009, the amount of accessible water in China decreased by 13 percent. By 2030, the Ministry of Water Resources anticipates that per capita water resources will decline below the World Bank's scarcity levels. Northern China reports some of the highest rates of water loss in the world. Moreover, according to China's Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei, two-thirds of Chinese cities face increased scarcity of water, and overall the country confronts a water shortage of 40 billion cubic meters annually. In rural China, 320 million people - one-quarter of China's total population don't have access to safe drinking water. Second, the country is sinking. The extensive contamination of surface water has forced the Chinese to increase their exploitation of groundwater, leading to groundwater depletion and a dramatic drop in the ground water tables: 100 to 300 meters in Beijing, and up to 90 meters in other parts of China. In Beijing, land subsidence resulting from this groundwater depletion has destroyed factories, buildings and underground pipelines. Saltwater intrusion as well as pollution is further compromising the diminishing groundwater supplies: Of the 182 cities with monitored groundwater in 2010, more than half registered "poor" to "extremely poor" in water quality. Even China's Ministry of Environmental Protection was forced to acknowledge, "It is not easy to be optimistic about the quality" of the groundwater. Finally, desertification is advancing. While the south is often faced with catastrophic floods, desertification of the north has become widespread: One Chinese official estimated that it would take 300 years to reverse the desertification of lands that has already taken place - the majority in areas bordering the North's Gobi Desert - due to overexploitation of environmental resources. Even as local officials fight to reverse the trend, the desert continues to expand at a rate of more than 1,060 square miles per year. The Hidden Costs What really concerns China's leaders, however, are the social, economic and political impacts of this growing scarcity. As China's Minister for the Environment Zhou Shengxian suggested on his agency's website, "The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the worsening

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ecological environment have become bottlenecks and grave impediments to the nation's economic and social development." For the Chinese people, the failure of local officials and factory managers to enforce environmental regulations translates into serious public health concerns, crop loss, poisoned fish and livestock, and a lack of water to run factories. For Chinese officials, the failure to protect the environment and provide adequate and safe water to their people is one of the chief causes of social unrest in the country and perhaps their greatest policy concern. AUTHOR: FOCUS ON CLEAN WATER, NOT GLOBAL WARMING http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/18/environmental-summitmisguided/?iref=allsearch THIRSTY FOR CLEAN WATER http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/05/02/thirsty-for-clean-water/?iref=allsearch GOING WITH THE 'FLOW' TOWARDS BETTER SANITATION http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/22/health/water-sanitation-mobile/index.html?iref=allsearch

WORLD BANK - WB
MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 8.A DEVELOP FURTHER AN OPEN, RULE-BASED, PREDICTABLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY TRADING AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.D DEAL COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE DEBT PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT KEY TO CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY IN TUNISIA25 There is universal agreement that unemployment (in particular youth unemployment) and poverty played a significant, if not the most important, role in the Arab Spring. High levels of youth unemployment and economic problems prompted civil unrest and dissatisfaction with the government, and gave many young people the time to network and organize. Yet now, economic woes initially a democratizing force have turned into an obstacle for many young democracies.

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Solving youth unemployment will therefore be instrumental in determining the long-term success of the Arab Spring. Tunisia, where it all started, is a good case study. No wonder that the revolution in Tunisia began in the central region of the country rather than coastal areas, where about 80 percent of the population live in much better economic conditions. These central lands are economically depressed, neglected for decades by various Tunisian governments. Tunisians are arguably the best-educated people in North Africa, but Tunisias economy, especially in the inland regions, has failed to create opportunities for those with a college degree. Student exchange programs could help spark economic development in the center of Tunisia. By giving Tunisia's youth opportunities in business, rather than simply in academia, we might be able to address the economic difficulties facing that region, and it might be possible to bring business opportunities to investors outside Tunisia as well. The question then is how to design student exchange programs that would contribute to uplifting these depressed areas. For a start, student exchange programs between Tunisia and the U.S. could be established at business schools or other university business programs in both countries. If successful, they could be adapted to other countries changed by the Arab Spring, such as Egypt and Morocco. This type of program should work both ways, with Tunisian students studying in the United States and U.S. students in Tunisia. The selection of the exchange students from both sides would be centered on their potential for designing and carrying out an effective business project. In the U.S., the Tunisian students would learn how to run or assist in running a local small business back home. The Tunisian students would work in a U.S. small business over a three month period, supplemented by classroom instruction. They would later apply the techniques learned to small businesses they would start in the Tunisian neglected regions. Preference would be given to students whose roots are in the depressed areas, as they would be more sensitive and understanding about the problems of these areas. The U.S. exchange students selected from a business school or university business program would for their part bring their expertise to a small indigenous business in the depressed areas for a period of at least three months to ensure a genuine impact. Such an effort would demonstrate that business ambition and idealism can go hand-in-hand. Business schools both in Tunisia and the U.S. would offer as part of the curriculum a three-month internship with corresponding credit related to this model. The U.S. business community and, in some cases, U.S. government international cooperation institutions, such as the newly established "Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund," would provide starting capital to the small business projects in the depressed areas and also fund the expenses of the exchange students, whether from Tunisia or the U.S., in cooperation with business schools. What would be the incentives for business groups to provide support? Potentially, this would open the door to them for other, larger business deals in the country, and supporting these small projects would give them an opportunity to test the waters before entering into larger commitments. Businesses could invest in internships and small businesses to develop strategies and to discern what sort of larger investments would be worthwhile. The benefits of such a program would be threefold. First, students would be able to develop and practice business techniques that would prove valuable in their careers, and small businesses would be given interns with the drive to improve their business. Second, the development of such activities would improve the economy of the depressed areas, and would improve the prospects

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for American trade relationships in the region. American interns would make valuable Tunisian connections for their future companies. But there is also a cultural benefit to such exchange programs. By participating in the work force of a foreign country, both Tunisians and Americans would be helping to stimulate a cultural dialogue that can address a range of political, economic, and social issues facing the two nations. This dialogue would hopefully continue long after students have returned home, thus improving the prospects for peace and cooperation. Therefore, business exchange programs could be relied on as an obvious strategy to accomplish economic goals for the individual and the nation, but also as a less apparent tool for improving international cultural dialogue. The success of this model could be measured through several factors. The evaluation of the exchange program would look at the number of long-term jobs created. It would also identify whether the model can be replicated outside of Tunisia on a pilot project basis. Also, it would look at the long-term sustainability of the business created on the basis of this model, as well as determining whether there is a decrease in the so-called brain drain the emigration of young people from depressed areas or even Tunisia altogether. If the exchange program is well-designed. Tunisia may be the most promising young democracy in the region, but there is universal agreement that if economic development does not take place in the coming years, the country may slide toward chaos, with dire consequences not only for Tunisia, but also for Europe and beyond. WHICH COUNTRY HAS MOST ECONOMIC FREEDOM? http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/10/business/global-economic-freedomindex/index.html?iid=article_sidebar EXPERTS WARN AFRICA MUST LEARN FROM INDIA'S MICROFINANCE PROBLEMS http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/03/23/microfinance.africa.lessons/index.html?iref=allsear ch DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO TO GET BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DEBT RELIEF26

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CNN) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo is in line to get billions of dollars in debt relief, World Bank officials said, cutting the amount the nation owes by more than 80 percent. International Monetary Fund and World Bank boards released a statement Thursday supporting $12.3 billion in debt relief for the central African nation. Congo received $11.1 billion in relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and $1.2 billion under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, the organizations said in a statement. Congo qualifies for the relief because it has made efforts to strengthen its economy and resume good governance despite years of conflict, according to the Washington-based organizations. "Progress in each of these areas also sets a solid foundation for advancing the country's development agenda going forward," said Brian Ames, the nation's mission chief for the International Monetary Fund. Congo marked 50 years of independence on Wednesday. The nation remains one of the world's poorest countries despite abundant natural resources such as copper and cobalt. Conflicts, mostly over natural resources, rage on in some regions. Violence, disease and famine have killed at least 5 million people in the past 12 years, leaving the country grappling with a humanitarian crisis. BUSH, BLAIR PUSH AFRICAN DEBT RELIEF http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/06/07/bush.blair.africa/index.html?iref=allsearch HOPES RAISED OF AFRICA DEBT DEAL http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/06/10/g8.africa/index.html?iref=allsearch NOT ENOUGH, SAY AID AGENCIES http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/06/08/bush.blair.africa.reax/index.html?iref=allsearc h OPINION: CHINA'S POSITIVE SPIN ON AFRICA http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/18/opinion/china-media-africa-verhoevengagliardone/index.html?iref=allsearch

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FRANCE 24

INTRODUCTION HISTORY PROGRAMMES AND PRESENTERS MANAGEMENT ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUNS AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through its own iPhone app. The channel, since 2008, has been wholly owned by the French Government (via its holding company, lAudiovisuel extrieur de la France (AEF), having acquired the remaining shares held by its former partners Groupe TF1 and France Tlvisions. AEF also wholly own Radio France Internationale and hold 49% of Francophone channel TV5MONDE. It is funded by France with an annual budget of approximately 100 million. President Nicolas Sarkozy announced on 8 January 2008 that he was in favour of reducing France 24's programming to French only.

HISTORY
France 24 started broadcasting on 6 December 2006. Funded by the French government and based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, the channel broadcasts world news. Currently it offers variants in English and Arabic in addition to French. The media's perception was that the channel was a brainchild of former president Jacques Chirac, famous for defending the position of the French language in the world, specifically versus the English domination in this media category. France 24 intends to present a view of the news different from that of the Anglophone leading international news channels BBC World Newsand CNN International. France 24 wants to put more emphasis on debate, dialogue and the role of cultural difference. It will also be competing with Deutsche Welle television service, Al Jazeera English, RT and NHK World news channels. The Arabic programming competes with Al Jazeera's and Rusiya Al-Yaum's Arabic channels. The French government allocated around 100 million for the project. The European Commission gave the green light to France 24 in June 2006, saying it did not breach European Union state aid rules. In 2007, France 24 started a VOD service on Virgin Media, allowing customers to access weekly news updates and programmes to watch when they choose. In the United States of America, Canada, Central and South America, France 24 is represented by the American telecommunication company New Line Television, headquartered in Miami, Florida.

PROGRAMMES AND PRESENTERS

France 24 is broadcast on three channels: in French, in English, and in Arabic. France 24's programming is divided more or less equally between news coverage and news magazines or special reports.

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Along with 260 journalists of its own, France 24 can call on the resources of the two main French broadcasters (Groupe TF1 and France Tlvisions) as well as partners such as AFP and RFI.

Beyond Business Business Matters hosted by Stphane Marchand, Pierre Brianon Culture Culture Critique hosted by Augustin Trapenard on literature, Amobe Mevegue on music, Sean Rose on exhibitions, Lisa Nesselson on cinema and Stephen Clarke Debate hosted by Francois Picard Environment hosted by Eve Irvine Europe District Christophe Robeet Health hosted by Eve Irvine In The Papers hosted by James Creedon Reporters hosted by Laura Baines Talking Europe Talking Points Technophile hosted by Franois Picard The Business Interview hosted by Raphael Kahane The F24 Interview The Observers hosted by Derek Thomson This Week in Africa hosted by Jessica Le Masurier This Week in Asia hosted by Claire Pryde This Week in Europe hosted by Rebecca Bowring This Week in France hosted by Nadia Charbit This Week in the Americas hosted by Annette Young This Week in the Maghreb hosted by Georja Calvin Smith This Week in the Middle East hosted by Lanah Kammourieh The World This Week Top Story Web News

MANAGEMENT
Chief Executive Officer Alain de POUZILHAC Chief Operating Officer Pierre HANOTAUX EDITORIAL MANAGEMENT Director of the Arabic language channel Nahida NAKAD

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Deputy Editorial Director of the English language channel Rene KAPLAN Deputy Editorial Director of the French language channel Philippe DI NACERA More information about France 24 organization and aims: http://www.france24.com/static/infographies/presse/PRESS%20KIT_FRANCE%2024_DEC%202011 .pdf

ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUNS AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

The mission of France24 is to cover international current events from a French perspective and to convey French values throughout the world. So remember: to you, aspiring journalist, international news are compelling. But most people are not fascinated by what is discussed at the United Nations. You always need to find an angle that will catch the attention of the average French viewer/reader. How does a UN resolution affect French citizens? What is France doing to contribute to issues such as global poverty, security and environmental sustainability? Here is a guide to help you out. For more info on FRANCE 24 http://www.france24.com/static/infographies/presse/FRANCE24_PressKit_0712_EN.pdf read

GENERAL ASSEMBLY - PLENARY MEETING-GA

MDG 1 - ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 1.A + 1.B - POVERTY ISSUE (REF. 2.A - SCHOOLING) HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN 1$ PER DAY FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 1.C HUNGER HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HUNGER Journalists must focus their attention on key facts and figures on poverty and hunger worldwide. Quick Facts: The number of people living under the international poverty line of $1.25 a day declined from 1.8 billion to 1.4 billion between 1990 and 2005.

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 The proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing regions dropped from 46 per cent to 27 per cent on track to meet the target globally. Hunger may have spiked in 2009, one of the many dire consequences of the globalfood and financial crises. Despite some progress, one in four children in the developing world are still underweight. Children in rural areas are nearly twice as likely to be underweight as those in urban areas. Over 42 million people have been uprooted by conflict or persecution. Some questions to reply: 1. What is the UN doing to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger? ASDEFRGTUQ2. How are poverty and hunger affecting France? Try to see the issue from a French point of view. It is interesting to note that fighting poverty no longer means tackling problems in third world countries. Amid the Eurozone crisis millions of Europeans, crushed by an austerity squeeze and towering unemployment, joined the ranks of the newly poor in 2012. According to a recent survey, almost a quarter of French people have little or nothing left to live on at the end of the month. These "nouveaux poor" are students, single parents, casual workers and the elderly. 3. How is the current financial crisis affecting global poverty? The economic crisis is expected to push an estimated 64 million more people into extreme poverty in 2010. 4. What are the focus points of today's debate? Where does France stand? Some articles and bibliography GLOBAL HUNGER DECLINES BUT STILL 'UNACCEPTABLE'27

For the first time in 15 years, the number of undernourished people has declined, dropping from 1.023 billion last year to 925 million, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, which says the number is still "unacceptably high". AFP - The number of undernourished people around the world has declined by nearly 10 percent in the past year, the first time a drop in famine has been recorded since 1995, the UN food agency said Tuesday.

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A total of 925 million people are undernourished in 2010 compared with 1.023 billion last year, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a hunger report, revealing a drop of 9.6 percent. However "the number of undernourished people in the world remains unacceptably high," the FAO said. Some 98 percent of the world's undernourished people live in developing countries -- over 40 percent in China and India alone Recent food crises have hit Niger in West Africa, where seven million people suffered from food shortages following a major shortfall in the latest crop harvest. In Pakistan farmers are in desperate need of wheat seeds for the next sowing season after floods devastated much of the country's farmland and seed stock. The FAO said the decline could be explained mostly by a more favourable economic environment in 2010, particularly in developing countries, as well as a drop in both international and domestic food prices since 2008. However, "the fact that nearly a billion people remain hungry, even after the recent food and financial crises have largely passed, indicates a deeper structural problem," it said. Leading global aid agencies and charities were reserved in their response to the report, warning that there was still much work to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving world famine by 2015. "This is hardly time for celebration. Hunger is still no better than it was before the global food crisis and the goal to halve hunger is decades off track," ActionAids head of policy Meredith Alexander said. "As the spectre of the global economic crisis continues to loom large, governments must remember it is 10 times cheaper to halve hunger than ignore it," she added. For global aid agency Oxfam, the decline in famine numbers was due to "luck". "We know it is possible" to achieve the Millennium Development Goal for halving famine, Oxfam said, but "political will is the only element missing." In the hunger report, the FAO urged governments to "encourage increased investment in agriculture, expand safety nets and social assistance programmes, and enhance incomegenerating activities for the rural and urban poor." Analysis of hunger during financial crisis and recovery also brought to the fore the insufficient resilience to economic shocks of many poor countries and households, the FAO warned. "Lack of appropriate mechanisms to deal with the shocks or to protect the most vulnerable populations from their effects result in large swings in hunger following crises," it said. When the crisis is over there should be no relaxation in the fight against famine, the FAO urged. "Vulnerable households may deal with shocks by selling assets, which are very difficult to rebuild, by reducing food consumption in terms of quantity and variety, and by cutting down on health and education expenditures," it said. These coping mechanisms "all have long-term negative effects on the quality of life and livelihoods," the FAO said. ERADICATING EXTREME HUNGER AND POVERTY http://www.france24.com/en/20110917-7-billion-others-eradicate-extreme-hunger-povertyrwanda-lebanon-ecuador-india-botswana-part-1 ERADICATING EXTREME HUNGER AND POVERTY (PART 2)

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http://www.france24.com/en/20110924-7-billion-others-eradicate-extreme-hunger-povertyrwanda-senegal-madagascar-guatemala-cambodia-part-2 FIGHTING HUNGER: PATENT BATTLE FOR LIFE-SAVING PRODUCT http://www.france24.com/en/20110122-2011-01-22-1015-fighting-hunger-patent-battle-lifesaving-product UN RAISES AWARENESS ABOUT WORLD POVERTY http://www.france24.com/en/20081017-un-raises-awareness-about-world-poverty-worldpoverty-day CLASH OF AGENDAS: FINANCIAL CRISIS AND POVERTY REDUCTION http://iphone.france24.com/en/20080923-sanctions-against-north-korea-iran-must-be-enforcedsays-bush-un-general-assembly WORLD'S MALNOURISHED NEAR ONE BILLION http://iphone.france24.com/en/20080917-worlds-malnourished-near-one-billion-food-poverty FRENCH FOOD AID NGO REPORTS EXPLOSION IN DEMAND http://www.france24.com/en/20121229-france-poverty-restos-du-coeur EU SPLITS OVER FOOD AID FOR POOR http://www.france24.com/en/20110920-EU-food-aid-programme-poor-talks-stall THE FACES OF FRENCH POVERTY http://www.france24.com/en/20120203-reporters-poverty-france-unemployment-retirementcharities-food-aid-minimum-wage-presidential-election-2012?page=1 US POVERTY RATE HITS RECORD HIGH http://www.france24.com/en/20110913-us-poverty-rate-hits-record-high-unemployment

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL-SC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICTS Journalists must focus their attention on key facts and figures on the issue of children and armed conflict. Quick facts: The UN Security Council works to protect children's rights during armed conflicts and identifies countries and groups that kill, maim or rape children in conflicts, or recruit and use children as soldiers.

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 A 2012 UN report states that we are seeing a mixed picture: new horrendous realities for children in Syria, Yemen, and Libya have arisen, but some of the old conflicts have ended, such as in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Some questions to reply: 1. What has the UN done recently in this field? Since last September, five new action plans to prevent the recruitment and use of children were signed, between the UN and parties in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia and Myanmar. 2. Watch closely the debate at the UN. This is a very sensitive issue because it involves alliances and the balance of power. Not every UN member state has the same human rights standards, and this is something you need to try to capture during the debate. 3. Highlight the situation is Syria, a country that is being watched worldwide. Leila Zerrougui, the UN Special Representative for Children and Conflict, recently said: The situation for children in Syria is dire, noting that there are documented attacks on schools, of children denied access to hospitals, and of children being subjected to torture, including sexual violence (click here to see an interview by France24). France24 has given extensive coverage to war crimes in Syria: for example, read the article on Syrian children used as shields. Some articles and bibliography

IN LIBYA, CHILDREN PLAY WITH MACHINEGUNS... MADE OF WOOD

Photo by Khaled Walhi. This photo was sent to us by our Observer Khaled Walhi, who lives in Kufra, in eastern Libya. He tells us that the war there left traces on everyone, inlcuding young children. CHILDREN USED AS HUMAN SHIELDS BY SYRIAN ARMY28 Children in Hama protesting against the Syrian regime; these images were posted and relayed online by activists: the footage is apparently from May 31 and illustrates how children have their part to play in the uprising and they have not been spared in the ruthless and bloody repression

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ordered by the authorities. The international community was shocked when some 50 children were killed in the Houla massacre. The UN published a report this Tuesday, claiming the Syrian army has tortured and executed children, and also used some as "human shields" during clashes with rebels. Human Rights Watch had already highlighted the practice, which is strongly condemned under international law, back in March. The NGO had interviewed several activists who claimed they saw security forces using civilians, including women and children, to protect them in the event of attacks by armed anti-government activists. But the organization has also expressed concerns that the Free Syrian Army is recruiting children. The UN has received eye witness reports claiming children are being enrolled by the rebels, to carry out various duties, but in particular provide medical assistance on the front line. So children are also victims in Syrias devastating conflict. According to the Syria Violations Documentation Centre, which is run by opposition activists, at least 1183 children have been killed since the start of the uprising back in March 2011. SYRIA VIOLATIONS DOCUMENTATION CENTRE http://www.vdc-sy.org/index.php/en/home SYRIA'S CHILDREN OF WAR http://www.france24.com/en/20120704-syria%27s-children-of-war CHILDREN PAY HIGH PRICE FOR GAZA WAR http://www.france24.com/en/20121121-children-pay-high-price-gaza-war 5 MORE COUNTRIES TO END USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS: UN http://www.france24.com/en/20121205-5-more-countries-end-use-child-soldiers-un ISRAELI SOLDIERS CONVICTED FOR USING CHILD AS HUMAN SHIELD http://www.france24.com/en/20101003-israeli-soldiers-convicted-using-child-human-shieldpalestinian-territories DR CONGO'S LUBANGA FOUND GUILTY BY THE ICC http://www.france24.com/en/20120315-drcongo-icc-uganda-kony-child-soldiers-war-crimes-civilwar-ivory-coast-mali

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AGENDA TOPIC 2 RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLE PROTESTS IN KOSOVO: WE FEAR SERBIA WILL TAKE BACK THE COUNTRYS NORTH29

On Monday, the Kosovar nationalist party, Vetevendosje! [Self-Determination!] held a demonstration in front of the government headquarters in Pristina to protest against the resumption of talks between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels. The demonstrators, including several parliamentarians, tried to storm the building but were violently pushed back by police. On Friday, the Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Serb counterpart Ivica Dacic met in Brussels under the auspices of the European Union. Discussions between the two parties began in February 2011, but this was the first meeting since the talks were suspended in spring. Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, says it wants to normalise relations with its neighbour. The EU and NATO want the two countries to establish closer ties as part of their membership application to the two regional bodies. Although Thaci holds a parliamentary majority, he still needs to deal with active opposition from Self-Determination!, the countrys third largest political party with 14 parliamentarians in the 120seat assembly. The nationalist party took part in a demonstration on Monday against the relaunch of the talks. The protest was quashed by the police. 23 people, including 18 police officers, were injured. 63 demonstrators were also arrested. For Visar Ymeri, the head of the Self-Determination! parliamentary group, its clear the negotiations will lead to the creating of an autonomous Serb region in the north of Kosovo. This will allow Serbs to move around more easily in Kosovo, and worsen our economic situation. Visar Ymeri adds that the unemployment rate in Kosovo is 45 percent. His views highlight one of the

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major sticking points of the discussions: the status of North Kosovo, which has a large Serbian community. The situation is a sensitive issue in Kosovo, especially in the divided town of Mitrovica. Hashim Thaci has called on Self-Determination! to join the dialogue, but the party has refused. CLASHES AT KOSOVO PROTEST AGAINST NEW TALKS WITH SERBIA http://www.france24.com/en/20121023-clashes-kosovo-protest-against-new-talks-with-serbia CATALAN RULING PARTY SAYS NATIONHOOD CAMPAIGN ALIVE http://www.france24.com/en/20121128-catalan-ruling-party-says-nationhood-campaign-alive CATALAN SEPARATISTS TAKE QUALIFIED VICTORY IN ELECTIONS http://www.france24.com/en/20121125-catalonia-elections-narrow-separatist-parties-winindependence-spain UK CHIDES ARGENTINA OVER FALKLANDS INTIMIDATION http://www.france24.com/en/20120121-uk-chides-argentina-over-intimidation-falkland-islanderswilliam-hague REGIONAL LEADERS TO SUPPORT ARGENTINA IN FALKLANDS DISPUTE http://www.france24.com/en/20100223-regional-leaders-support-argentina-falklands-dispute FRANCE RECOGNISES BRUTAL COLONIAL PAST IN ALGERIA http://www.france24.com/en/20121220-hollande-recognises-algeria-suffering-colonialism KENYANS TORTURED UNDER BRITISH RULE WIN RIGHT TO SUE http://www.france24.com/en/2011005-kenya-torture-victims-can-sue-great-britain-high-courtrule-mau-mau-rebellion-colonialism IVORY COAST TO PROBE GBAGBO REGIME http://www.france24.com/en/20110417-ivory-coast-investigate-gbagbo-regime-ouattara-crimes

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION-WHO

MDG 6 - COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 6.A + 6.B - MOTIONED IN THIS ORDER HAVE HALTED THE INCIDENCE OF HIV BY 2015 UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV Journalists must focus their attention on key facts and figures on the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Quick facts

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 The spread of HIV appears to have stabilized in most regions, and more people are surviving longer. Many young people still lack the knowledge to protect themselves against HIV. Empowering women through AIDS education is indeed possible, as a number of countries have shown. Disparities are found in condom use by women and men and among those from the richest and poorest households. Condom use during high-risk sex is gaining acceptance in some countries and is one facet of effective HIV prevention. The rate of new HIV infections continues to outstrip the expansion of treatment. Some questions to reply: 1. What is the UN doing to fight these diseases? (You will find out about latest developments at the debate). 2. What are the social consequences of HIV and AIDS - are they stigmatized? Who are the people with the highest infection rates? According to this report by France24, it is gay black men. 3. How does preventing disease contribute to stable governance? Diseases such as HIV/AIDS can rob societies of their most productive workers, educated professionals, and political leaders, undermining economic growth and worsening social tensions. 4. What is the situation like in France? It would be interesting to mention that: Each year in France around 6,500 people become infected by HIV. Read this article by France24 to find out how authorities in Paris are reacting to tackle this issue. France is the second largest financial contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria after the United States On 1 August, thanks to Hollande France became the first European country to introduce a new financial-transaction tax (FTT), that could generate over 12 billion euros billions of dollars to help fund the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Read about it here. FUNDING CRISIS THREATENS AIDS PROGRESS, WARNS UN30

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The World Health Organisation issued a report Wednesday warning that a funding crisis would impede the significant progress the international community made in the past decade in the fight against AIDS. By News Wires (text) REUTERS - The international community has made extraordinary progress in the past decade in the fight against AIDS, but a funding crisis is putting those gains at risk, the United Nations health agencies said on Wednesday. A World Health Organisation-led report said the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS and now infects about 34 million people around the world has proven a formidable challenge for scientists and public health experts. But the tide is turning, it added. The tools to achieve an AIDS-free generation are in our hands. A severe funding crisis at the worlds largest backer of the fight against AIDS and a decline in international donor money to battle the disease is dampening optimism in the HIV/AIDS community about an eventual end to the pandemic. Annual funding for HIV/AIDS programmes fell to $15 billion in 2010 from $15.9 billion in 2009, well below the estimated $22 billion to $24 billion the U.N. agencies say is needed by 2015 to pay for a comprehensive, effective global response. The public-private Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the worlds largest financial backer of HIV treatment and prevention programmes, said last week it was cancelling new grants for countries battling these diseases and would make no new funding available until 2014. Just as the world is making huge strides in the fight against HIV and AIDS, the goal of creating an AIDS-free generation, where no children are born with HIV, will not be possible unless the Global Fund is able to continue scaling up its work, said Patrick Watt, Save the Childrens global campaign director. With the main funding body...now out of cash, there is a serious crisis, said Tido von SchoenAngerer of the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontires. Its like a car going full speed has suddenly run out of gas. In an interview with Reuters as the U.N agencies report was released, Gottfried Hirnschall, the WHOs director for HIV/AIDS, said progress in cutting the number of new HIV infections and dramatically increasing access to life-saving AIDS drugs made this a critical time in the battle. Scientific studies in the past year have also shown that getting timely AIDS drug treatment to those with HIV can significantly cut the number of people who become newly infected with the virus.

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This is a really exciting year, because were seeing downward trends in those areas where we want to see downward trends - in new infections and in mortality - and were seeing upward trends where wed like to see them, primarily in (treatment) coverage rates, Hirnschall said Latest figures in Wednesdays report and from a UNAIDS global study last week show the number of new HIV infections fell to 2.7 million in 2010, down from 3.1 million in 2001, while the number of people getting life-saving AIDS drugs rose to 6.65 million in 2010 from just 400,000 in 2003. Hirnschall said the data suggested the WHOs goal to have zero new infections, zero deaths and zero stigma associated with HIV could in the not too distant future become a reality. But the big risk lies in the funding, he said. We already have a $7 billion shortfall for this year and whats even more alarming is that we also had almost a billion dollars less this year than we did last. With many large international donor countries struggling with recession and debt crises, public health experts said it was crucial for countries affected by HIV/AIDS to do all they can to fund their own programmes and make resources go further. Wednesdays report, released ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 by the WHO, the United Nations AIDS programme UNAIDS and the United Nations childrens fund UNICEF, said treatment, prevention and outreach programmes are becoming more efficient, with health clinics integrating services and local communities finding more effective ways to get medicines to HIV patients. 2011 has been a game changing year. With new science, unprecedented political leadership and continued progress in the AIDS response, countries have a window of opportunity to seize this momentum, said Paul De Lay, deputy director of UNAIDS. However, gains made to date are being threatened by a decline in resources. Hirnschall said donors should recognise that stepping up investment now will save lives, and more money in the long run. The risk is that we carry on as we are for the next 20 years and the whole epidemic will just linger on and on. Or we could load up front and make a big investment now, and then the numbers will really start to come down and it will pay off. The question is, is the world ready to do that? REPORT WARNS OF RESISTANCE TO AIDS DRUGS IN AFRICA http://www.france24.com/en/20120723-health-hiv-resistance-aids-drugs-rise-africa US AUTHORITIES APPROVE TRUVADA USE IN HIV PREVENTION http://www.france24.com/en/20120716-usa-authorities-approve-truvada-use-hiv-preventionaids-food-drug-administration

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THE STIGMATISATION OF HIV AND AIDS IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY http://www.france24.com/en/20120723-usa-hiv-aids-religion-homosexuality-african-americanblack-community-gay EIFFEL TOWER GETS RISQU MAKEOVER IN FIGHT AGAINST AIDS http://www.france24.com/en/20121201-paris-aids-day-uses-eiffel-tower-push-condom-use-hivfrance-health ACCESS TO CARE SLASHES AIDS-RELATED DEATHS, UN SAYS http://www.france24.com/en/20111121-aids-related-deaths-fall-un-hiv-better-access-treatmentafrica GLOBAL FUND AGAINST AIDS VOWS TO CRACK DOWN ON CORRUPTION http://www.france24.com/en/20110205-global-fund-against-aids-vows-crackdown-financialcorruption RENEWED HOPE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS http://www.france24.com/en/20110205-global-fund-against-aids-vows-crackdown-financialcorruption POPE SAYS CONDOM USE ALLOWED 'IN CERTAIN CASES' http://www.france24.com/en/20101120-condom-use-allowed-certain-cases-pope-light-worldsigns-times-vatican-benedict-seewald MEXICO HOSTS INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE http://www.france24.com/en/20080804-mexico-hosts-international-aids-conference-aids-mexicousa USING THE WEB TO HELP FIGHT AIDS http://www.france24.com/en/20081201-using-web-help-fight-aids-health 30 YEARS OF AIDS http://www.france24.com/en/20110619-aids-france-gottlieb-anniversary http://www.france24.com/en/20111130-aids-world-health-organisation-research-funding-healthun US FIRM WON'T ENFORCE AIDS DRUG PATENTS IN POOR COUNTRIES http://www.france24.com/en/20121129-us-firm-wont-enforce-aids-drug-patents-poor-countries AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG8 - TARGET 8.E IN COOPERATION WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, PROVIDE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL DRUGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

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GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP TO GIVE AFRICANS ACCESS TO CHEAPER MALARIA DRUGS31

Africans will be able to buy more effective and affordable malaria drugs at their local pharmacies, under an international partnership launched in Norway. Malaria strikes about 250 million people a year, one million of whom die. Related links Experimental vaccine could reduce malaria infection Prevention against malaria AFP - More effective drugs to treat malaria are set to be cheaper for Africans to buy at their local pharmacies, under an international partnership launched Friday at a meeting in Norway. The Affordable Medicines Facility aims to push down the cost of modern malaria drugs in order to drive older, ineffective medications off the market, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said. "The age when the world had effective drugs against infectious diseases but let millions die each year because they couldn't afford them is over," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere in a statement. The facility will initially be offered to 10 nations in Africa -- Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda -- as well as Cambodia. Sharing the initial cost of 225 million dollars (172 million euros) over two years will be Britain and UNITAID, an international drug-buying facility created by France and supported by 27 other nations. The Global Fund will manage the facility. Spread by mosquitos in tropical regions, and most notably in poorer developing countries, malaria strikes about 250 million people a year -- one million of whom die, 90 percent of them children.

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New drugs, known as artemisinin combination therapies, or ACTs, are available for free in public health clinics, the Global Fund said. But because they are up to 40 times more expensive over the counter, many malaria sufferers opt for cheaper, older medicines that the malaria parasite has, over time, grown resistant to. Unitaid said the current price of ACT treatment ranges from six to 10 dollars down to less than 20 cents. "There is no reason any child should die of malaria anymore," said Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund. "We have insecticide-impregnated bed nets to protect families from mosquitos and effective drugs to treat those who do fall ill. Now we only need to ensure that all who need these things get them." Unitaid president Philippe Douste-Blazy called for an end to what he called the paradox of an African child dying every 30 seconds from malaria when effective medication exists to counter the illness. Reversing the incidence of malaria and HIV-AIDS is among the Millenium Development Goals set out by the United Nations in 2000 which notably aim to reduce extreme poverty by half by 2015. CHIRAC JOINS AFRICAN LEADERS IN CALLING FOR BAN ON FAKE DRUG SALES http://www.france24.com/en/20091012-chirac-joins-african-leaders-calling-ban-fake-drug-sales NEW ALARM AS CHOLERA EPIDEMIC REACHES 60,000 http://www.france24.com/en/20090130-new-alarm-cholera-epidemic-reaches-60000-

HARARE CALLS FOR HELP WITH CHOLERA EPIDEMIC http://www.france24.com/en/20081204-harare-calls-help-with-cholera-epidemic-zimbabwehealth INDIA: THE GENERIC DRUG WAR http://www.france24.com/en/20120703-planet-hope-india-war-generic-drugs-medicinessupreme-court-development-health-pharmaceutical-industry-novartis

UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION-UNESCO

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

AND

CULTURAL

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TARGET 2.A -ENSURE THAT, BY 2015, CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE, WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE A FULL COURSE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING Journalists must focus their attention on key facts and figures on primary education worldwide. Quick facts The current pace of progress is insufficient to meet the target by 2015. Enrolment in primary education in developing regions reached 89 per cent in 2008, up from 83 per cent in 2000. About 69 million school-age children are not in school. Almost half of them (31 million) are in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than a quarter (18 million) are in Southern Asia. Some questions to reply: 1. Where does the UN stand in 2013? The target is unlikely to be met: the pace of progress is insufficient to ensure that, by 2015, all girls and boys complete a full course of primary schooling. What has worked so far? Pay attention to the debate, and finf more information on progress so far. 2. What is primary education like in France? Hollande plans to shake up the education system by, among other things, abolishing homework, thus making education more accessible for pupils in disadvantaged areas. Can France set an example?

PAKISTAN MARKS 'MALALA DAY' TO PROMOTE EDUCATION32 The Pakistani government has offered cash stipends to more than 3 million poor families if their children attend school, the government said Saturday, as the country marked Malala Day in support of a schoolgirl activist shot by the Taliban. By News Wires (text)

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The families of more than 3 million poor children in Pakistan will receive cash stipends if their children go to school, the government said as officials prepared to mark "Malala Day" on Saturday in support of a schoolgirl shot by the Taliban. U.N. officials declared Malala Day one month after 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai and two of her classmates were shot by the Pakistan Taliban. She had been targeted for speaking out against the insurgency. In the days following the shooting, Yousufzai became an international icon and world leaders pledged to support her campaign for girls' education. She is now recovering in a British hospital. On Friday, Pakistani president Asif Zardari added his signature to petitions signed by more than a million people urging Pakistan to pay stipends to families who put their girls in school in honor of Malala. "Malala's dreams represent what is best about Pakistan," said former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as he presented the petitions to President Zardari. Tens of thousands of Britons have called on the government to nominate Malala Yousufzai for a Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting girls' education. On Friday, the government announced that poor families will now receive $2 a month per child in primary school. The program will be funded by the World Bank and Britain and distributed through the government's Benazir Income Support Programme, designed to give small cash payments to needy families. The families in the programme already receive $10 a month for basic expenditure. After a stipend programme was put in place in Pakistan's Punjab province, a World Bank study found a nine percent increase in girls' enrolment over two years, said Alaphia Zoyab, the South Asia campaigner for internet activist group Avaaz. Pakistan is struggling to overcome widespread poverty, a Taliban insurgency and massive, endemic corruption. Less than 0.57 percent of Pakistan's 180 million citizens pay income tax, money that the government could use to educate poor children. Instead, the Pakistani government relies on foreign donors to fund many social programs. Britain is due to spend around $1 billion on helping Pakistan educate poor children by 2015. SWEDEN TO GIVE UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN ACCESS TO EDUCATION http://www.france24.com/en/20121024-sweden-give-undocumented-children-access-education http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/FicheRepere_EducationPourTous_ENG_cle8b3ce1.pdf http://www.ledeveloppementenquestions.org/?q=en/millennium-goals/goal-2-achieve-universalprimary-education

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AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGET 8.F + PRESS FREEDOM IN COOPERATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, MAKE AVAILABLE BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS Journalists should focus on key facts and figures on availability of new technologies in developing countries. Quick facts: Only 1 in 6 people in the developing world has access to the Internet. Access to the Internet continues to expand, but is still closed to the majority of the worlds people. By the end of 2008, 1.6 billion people, or 23 per cent of the world population, were using the Internet. Some question to reply: 1. What is the UN doing to achieve this goal? For more information, click here. 2. France24 strives to give voice to the underprivileged social strata, so try to focus on how, and if, new technologies are changing the lives of young students in developing countries. WORLD LEADERS GATHER IN DUBAI TO ASSESS FUTURE OF INTERNET http://www.france24.com/en/20121203-2012-12-03-2050-wb-en-webnews SHOWDOWN SET ON BID TO GIVE UN CONTROL OF INTERNET http://www.france24.com/en/20121029-showdown-set-bid-give-un-control-internet IRAN CUTS OFF INTERNET ACCESS http://www.france24.com/en/20120221-2012-02-22-2049-wb-en-webnews AN EGYPTIAN BLOGGER IN ISRAEL TO PROMOTE PEACE http://www.france24.com/en/20121224-2012-12-24-0223-wb-en-webnews TUNISIAN JOURNALISTS STRIKE OVER PRESS FREEDOM http://www.france24.com/en/20121017-tunisian-journalists-strike-over-threats-press-freedomislamist-led-government INTEL CALLS FOR END TO ONLINE GENDER GAP http://www.france24.com/en/20130111-intel-calls-end-online-gender-gap EGYPTIAN SATIRIST TO BE INVESTIGATED FOR MORSI 'INSULT'

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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - UNHRC

MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 3.A ELIMINATE GENDER DISPARITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, PREFERABLY BY 2005, AND IN ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION NO LATER THAN 2015. Journalists should focus on key facts and figures about gender disparity in primary and secondary education. Quick facts: Poverty is a major barrier to education, especially among older girls. Women are over-represented in informal employment, with its lack of benefits and security. The share of women employed outside of agriculture remains as low as 20 per cent in Southern Asia, Western Asia and Northern Africa. Top-level jobs still go to men to an overwhelming degree. Women are slowly rising to political power, but mainly when boosted by quotas and other special measures. Some questions to reply: 1. What is the UN doing to achieve this goal? 2. What is the situation in the developed world? It is interesting to note that the issue of gender inequality is not at all relegated to the developing world. The gender pay gap still averages 16.4% in the EU, and in some member states has even widened. On average, women across the EU earn 16.4% less than men. 3. Is there gender equality in France? Surprisingly, France ranks 57th in the world for womens equality, behind much of Eastern Europe, as well as Mongolia, Uganda and others. According to this article, France is by far the worst country for women in Western Europe.

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WOMEN STILL FACE GENDER GAP IN JOBS, WAGES: REPORT http://www.france24.com/en/20121024-women-still-face-gender-gap-jobs-wages-report AFP - Women are closing the gender gap with men in health and education but struggle to get top jobs and salaries, data from a study of 135 countries showed on Wednesday. "Gaps in senior positions, wages and leadership levels still persist," even in countries that promote equality in education and have a high level of economic integration among women, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in its annual Global Gender Gap Report. The new figures were released just hours after a European Union initiative to set a 40-percent quota for women on the boards of listed companies stalled because of a lack of support. The report, which covered more than 90 percent of the world?s population, looked at how nations distribute resources and opportunities between women and men. It found that the Nordic countries, headed by Iceland, Finland and Norway, had done the best job of closing the gap, while Chad, Pakistan and Yemen had the worst rankings. While almost all countries had made progress in closing the gap in healthcare and education between women and men, only 60 percent of countries had managed to narrow the economic gender gap and only 20 percent had progressed on a political level, the study said. Of the top four global economies, the United States, Japan and Germany all made progress in closing their economic gender gap in 2012. However, they slipped in the overall ranking, which also looks at health, education and politics, with Germany falling two spots to 13th place, the United States sliding five spots to 22nd, and Japan dipping to 101st from 98th last year. China, which took a step backwards when it came to closing the economic gender gap, also fell in the overall ranking to 69th place from 66th last year. Greece, which ranked 82nd, registered one of the biggest falls since 2011, when it ranked 56th -largely owing to a change in the percentage of women holding ministerial positions, from 31 percent in 2011 to only six percent in 2012. Countries such as Nicaragua (9) and Luxembourg (17) climbed up the ranking thanks to an increase in the percentage of women in parliament. Reducing the male-female employment gap has been an important driver of European economic growth in the last decade, the report said. It added that introducing even more equality could boost US gross domestic product by nine percent and eurozone GDP by up to 13 percent. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Tuesday that a move to set a 40-percent quota for women on the boards of listed companies had been delayed amid an ongoing row over the lack of female candidates for a key European Central Bank (ECB) job. Reding, who was scheduled to present the plan, said on Twitter: "Gender balance directive postponed," owing to insufficient support for the idea within the 27-member European Commission. The delay came a day after the European Parliament's economic affairs committee rejected the nomination of Luxembourger Yves Mersch to the ECB executive board, because it would result in an all-male board until 2018. The WEF report said that closing the global gender gap was fundamental to economic growth and stability. It pointed out that no country in the Middle East or north Africa featured in the top 100

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of the index: these were regions often troubled by instability and frequently pointed to when gender inequality is discussed. Elsewhere in Africa, however, five countries ranked in the top 30. By region, the Philippines (8) remained the highest-ranking country from Asia in the index. With women making up 50 percent of countries' "human capital", governments needed to find ways to benefit from their talent, insisted Saadia Zahidi, senior director at the World Economic Forum. "If that capital is not invested in, educated or healthy, countries are going to lose out in terms of their long-term potential," she said. Only six countries had showed an improvement of 10 percentage points since the report launched seven years ago, Zahidi added, and almost 75 countries have improved by less than five points. "So the progress is very slow... even though we are seeing a trend in a positive direction," she said. WOMEN: SAME WORK, LESS PAY? http://www.france24.com/en/20100319-women-same-work-less-pay CONTRACEPTION COULD SAVE WORLD $5.7 BN: UN REPORT http://www.france24.com/en/20121114-contraception-could-save-world-57-bn-un-report INDIAN WOMEN TAKE SAFETY INTO THEIR OWN HANDS http://www.france24.com/en/20130110-indian-women-take-safety-into-their-own-hands INDIA: THE SCHOOL WHERE WOMEN BECOME SOLAR ENGINEERS http://www.france24.com/en/20120728-Rajasthan-school-women-students-solar-engineergraduate-Barefoot-College AFRICA AT 50: CLOSING THE GENDER GAP http://www.france24.com/en/20100520-france-24-debate-african-independence-women-statusinfluence-evolution AFRICA AT 50: CLOSING THE GENDER GAP (PART 2) http://www.france24.com/en/20100520-france-24-debate-african-independence-women-statusinfluence-evolution-part2 MICHELLE BACHELET, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN WOMEN http://www.france24.com/en/20120522-michelle-bachelet-un-women-executive-director-genderequality-wb-en-interview GENDER SEGREGATION IN THE HOLY CITY http://www.france24.com/en/20111229-focus-israel-jerusalem-orthodox-judaism-gendersegregation-controversy-women AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 9 - IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FURTHER? LGBT RIGHTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LINK TO HIV/AIDS

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'PRO-GAY' FRENCH COMEDIAN RALLIES AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE33 The leading figure in Frances anti-gay marriage movement, which hopes to get 200,000 demonstrators out on Sunday to protest the proposed marriage for all law, is an unlikely firebrand for the Catholic and right-wing dominated campaign. The French anti-gay marriage movement has an unlikely figurehead in the form of a reactionary comedian who goes by the moniker Frigide Barjot. The name which translates as Frigid Loony is a play on the name of Brigitte Bardot, the French actress better-known as a symbol of the 60s sexual revolution. Barjot real name, Virginie Tellene is a born-again Catholic whose background belies her role as spokesperson for a movement that has bought a medley of conservative, far-right and Christian groups together to protest the Socialist governments plans to allow same-sex couples to marry and access to fertility treatment. Barjot and her supporters hope to get 200,000 out on the streets on Sunday for a France-wide demonstration against the Socialist governments proposed marriage for all law. Taking up the bizarre pen-name in the 80s as part of comedy and satire collective Jalons, Barjot became a household name for organising stunts poking fun at venerable French institutions. Jalons debut happening was a protest against the cold during the freezing winter of 1984 at the aptly-named Paris metro station Glacire [meaning freezer], ironically blaming the French head of state for the weather conditions with the slogan: Ice is a killer; Mitterrand its accomplice. Since then she has made her name as both a stand-up comedian and as a satirical writer. Barjot refuses to be branded homophobic, citing her life-long attachment to her first boyfriend, who turned out to be gay, and 25 years working in gay nightclubs. I do not deny gay love and Ive got nothing against gay culture, she told right-leaning daily Le Figaro for a portrait published on Friday. But I cannot condone the introduction of a new type of marriage into Frances civil code. Barjot, who has described herself as Jesus press officer, says she was struck in the heart during a music concert at Notre Dame Cathedral in 1987 and has been an ardent Catholic ever since. Since then she has been an increasingly active defender of the Catholic Church and its values. In 2009 she set up the hands off my Pope movement in defence of Pope Benedict XI amid the scandal of former English bishop Richard Williamson, whose excommunication was lifted despite refusing to renounce views that Jews are the enemy of Christ.

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According to the Figaro, Sundays anti-gay marriage outing will write her into the history book of the French Catholic movement or not, if the event turns out to be a damp squib: "In an era when the church has not one single charismatic character to represent it, she will become either the ephemeral media image of this movement, or Saint Frigid. THOUSANDS GATHER IN PARIS IN SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE http://www.france24.com/en/20121216-france-thousands-gather-paris-support-gay-marriage SOUTH AFRICA: WHEN BEING GAY IS LIVING HELL http://www.france24.com/en/20120117-planet-hope-south-africa-homosexuality-rapes-gaywomen-discrimination-lesbians-victims LGBT VOTERS JOIN FRONTLINE OF OBAMA CAMPAIGN http://www.france24.com/en/20121101-usa-election-barack-obama-gay-lgbt-voters-mittromney-homosexual-florida-marriage-equality CATHOLIC CHURCH WEIGHS IN AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE http://www.france24.com/en/20121105-french-catholic-church-weighs-against-gay-marriage-lawfamily-adoption

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME-UNEP

MDG 7 - ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 7.A INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 7.C HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION. Journalists must focus on key facts and figures about progress in the field of environmental sustainability. Quick facts: The rate of deforestation shows signs of decreasing, but is still alarmingly high. Some 1.7 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water since 1990. Yet 884 million people worldwide still do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines. Improvements in sanitation are bypassing the poor.

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 The world has missed the 2010 target for biodiversity conservation. Based on current trends, the loss of species will continue throughout this century. Some questions to reply: 1. What does the situation look like in 2013? What is the UN doing to achieve this goal? It is worth mentioning that: If current trends continue, the world is on track to meet the drinking water target by 2015. By that time, an estimated 86 per cent of the population in developing regions will have gained access to improved sources of drinking water. After the Rio development Summit in June 2012, which resulted in no real achievements, expectations are low. Many ecologists, activists and business leaders now believe that progress on environmental issues must be made locally with the private sector, and without the help of international accords. Read more on this article on France24. 2. Is France environmentally sustainable? Hollande has been called a 'green' prime minister. He wants to reduce the nuclear share of the country's energy mix, and close France's oldest nuclear power plant (Fessenheim) by 2017. However, his new environmental policies may result into higher energy prices and, consequently, higher taxes.

RIO SUMMIT ENDS WITH 'MEANINGLESS' AGREEMENT http://www.france24.com/en/20120623-rio-summit-ends-with-meaningless-agreementenvironment-sustainable-development UN CHIEF SAYS CHINA IS CRUCIAL TO ANY CLIMATE CHANGE ACCORD http://www.france24.com/en/20090724-ban-ki-moon-un-kyoto-protocol-climate-deal-chinaenvironment-pollution TAKING STOCK OF THE WORLD'S NATURAL ASSETS http://www.france24.com/en/20100220-taking-stock-worlds-natural-assets AQUACULTURE: ALIMENTARY SOLUTION OR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM? http://www.france24.com/en/20090518-aquaculture-alimentary-solution-or-environmentalproblem-

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GAZA: WATER FOR LIFE http://www.france24.com/en/20121218-planet-hope-gaza-strip-water-for-life-drinking-sewagetreatment-plant-health-pollution-afd ACCESS TO CLEAN DRINKING WATER http://www.france24.com/en/20120204-7-billion-others-access-clean-drinking-water-diseasesun-millennium-development-goals POOR SANITATION KILLS 2.7 MN PEOPLE A YEAR: UN http://www.france24.com/en/20121116-poor-sanitation-kills-27-mn-people-year-un

WORLD BANK - WB
MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 8.A DEVELOP FURTHER AN OPEN, RULE-BASED, PREDICTABLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY TRADING AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.D DEAL COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE DEBT PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

Journalists must focus on key facts and figures on progress made in the field of development. Quick facts: Official development assistance stands at 0.31 per cent of the combined national income of developed countries, still far short of the 0.7 per cent UN target. Only five donor countries have reached or exceeded the target. Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In terms of aid volume, the largest donors in 2009 were the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. Debt burdens have eased for developing countries and remain well below historical level

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1. What is the UN doing? Levels of official development assistance (ODA) continue to rise despite the financial crisis. Developing countries are benefiting from tariff reductions, and increasingly gaining access to the markets of the developed countries. 2. What is the situation in Africa? Is France a major aid donor? France24 gives extensive coverage to Africa, as it has former colonial ties with several African countries. A few topics to highlight: Overall, Africa is short-changed and aid remains below expectations. Has the financial crisis forced the EU (by far the biggest aid donor to Africa) to scale back their aid spending? According to ONE, a leading NGO, in order to meet its 2015 target of 7.71 billion for Africa, France will need to increase relevant ODA levels by 4.22 billion between 2011 and 2015. Instead, France actually reduced its aid to Africa by 543.2 million between 2010 and 2011. To find out more about France's development aid policy: http://www.france24.com/en/20121114-iraqinvestment-concerns-remain-trade-fair-ends IRAQ INVESTMENT CONCERNS REMAIN AS TRADE FAIR ENDS34 AFP - Nuri al-Maliki may have trumpeted Iraq last week as the top destination for investment in the region, but experts warn that myriad problems keep it from being a good choice for all but the most adventurous. Excessive red tape, rampant corruption, an unreliable judicial system and still-inadequate security, as well as a poorly trained workforce and a state-dominated economy all continue to plague Iraq, which completed its biggest trade fair in 20 years last week to much domestic acclaim. The various difficulties of doing business in Iraq cast doubt on efforts to raise $1 trillion (788 million euros) in investment income over the coming decade that officials say is needed to rebuild its battered economy. "If you want to attract capital, if you want to attract firms, you've got to make it positive," complained one Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "You've got to provide the incentives to invest here, and there are already so many disincentives." A recent World Bank report listed a litany of problems: a tiny private sector, limited access to loans, an exodus of educated Iraqis, decades of isolation from global trade, destroyed infrastructure, unsteady power and water supplies and a poor transport network. "In addition to securing and stabilising the country, these key challenges must be addressed in order for Iraq to truly fulfil its economic potential," it noted. A survey of firms conducted by the bank, which ranks Iraq as the 165th worst country in the world to do business, listed the three biggest obstacles as poor electricity supply, political instability and corruption.

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http://www.france24.com/en/20121114-iraq-investment-concerns-remain-trade-fair-ends

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Overall, Iraqi firms lose around 22 percent of their sales to what the World Bank classes as "investment climate weakness," a greater figure than losses suffered by companies in Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Jordan or Morocco. Iraqi officials say they are in the early stages of reforming the economy into more of a marketdriven system, but counsel patience with a country that only recently emerged from a decade of conflict and isolation. "People are impatient; they want you to almost create miracles... and I fully sympathise with them," said Sami al-Araji, head of Iraq's National Investment Commission. Araji insisted that reforms to Iraq's bloated state-owned enterprises, antiquated banking sector and Byzantine legal system were all in the works, but acknowledged that the country's bureaucracy was averse to wide-scale changes. He said he hoped mooted reforms would remove "all these different chains that have handcuffed" Iraq. It is widely agreed that the country has vast potential rewards for firms that manage to negotiate the various difficulties. A swathe of industries are seen to represent good prospects, including electricity, transportation, construction, housing, agriculture, healthcare and defence, as well as energy. "You're talking about 30 million people, with an infrastructure that needs to be almost re-done," Araji said. "Not very many countries have that potential." But while the government's increasing spending power as a result of rising oil revenues ostensibly offers an opportunity for profits, many worry that such a factor is a double-edged sword. Those same revenues, coupled with upcoming elections and an alleged lack of appreciation of investors' concerns, have sparked concerns that Iraqi leaders do not have the stomach for the reforms required. A recent effort to revamp its biggest social welfare programme, a government system of distributing food to the poor that the United Nations and International Monetary Fund have said is inefficient and vulnerable to corruption, provides an indication. After announcing they were abandoning the scheme in favour of direct cash transfers, ministers quickly pulled back following public outcry. "As long as oil continues to flow and the money keeps coming into the budget, there is no incentive whatsoever for anything to happen," said one diplomat. "Everything they need to do requires political will. That's a problem."

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AID FOR AFRICA: IS EUROPE GETTING STINGY? http://www.france24.com/en/20120406-talking-europe-africa-eu-development?page=32 EU RETHINKS DEVELOPMENT POLICY: HOW TO MAKE AID MORE EFFECTIVE? http://www.france24.com/en/20121020-africa-europe-georgieva-joly-ndiaye-developmentdevdays EU-CHINA RELATIONS: A FAIR DEAL FOR ALL? http://www.france24.com/en/20121006-china-european-union-trade-dumping-elmar-brokxiaojuan-miao IMF CITES EUROZONE DEBT IN LOWERING 2012 GROWTH FORECAST http://www.france24.com/en/20120124-imf-cites-eurozone-debt-budget-cuts-lowering-2012growth-forecast-international-monetary-fund GLOBAL OIL PRICES STEADY AS MARKET DIGESTS GREEK DEBT DEAL http://www.france24.com/en/20121127-global-oil-prices-steady-market-digests-greek-debt-deal THIRD WORLD DEBT UNDERMINES DEVELOPMENT http://www.globalissues.org/issue/28/third-world-debt-undermines-development MDG 8: DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT http://www.unfpa.org.br/lacodm/arquivos/mdg8.pdf United Nations http://www.un.org General Assembly Resolutions http://www.un.org/documents/resga.htm UNDP http://www.undp.org/ IMF http://www.imf.org World Bank http://www.worldbank.org Debt Relief International http://www.dri.org.uk Paris Club http://www.clubparis.org/en/

G7/8 http://www.g7.utoronto.ca http://www.g8.utoronto.ca Global Policy Forum http://www.globalpolicy.org

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BBC WORLD NEWS

INTRODUCTION HISTORY OF BBC WORLD NEWS PROGRAMMING NEWS PRESENTERS BBC WORLD NEWS AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS BBC WORLD NEWS- INFO & POSITION ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUN'S AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION
BBC World News is the BBC's commercially funded, international 24-hour news and information channel, broadcast in English in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe. Its estimated weekly audience reach of 76 million makes it the BBC's biggest television service. Available in more than 276 million homes, 1.5 million hotel rooms, on 57 cruise ships, 42 airlines and 34 mobile phone platforms, BBC World News broadcasts a diverse mix of authoritative international news, sport, weather, business, current affairs and documentary programming.

HISTORY
The channel was launched on 11 March 1991 as BBC World Service Television which, on 1 January 1994, split into two stations: BBC Prime, an entertainment channel, and BBC World, focusing on news and current affairs. It was renamed BBC World News in 2008. BBC World News is owned and operated by BBC World Ltd, a member of the BBC's commercial group of companies and is funded by subscription and advertising revenues. The studio is situated next to the main newsroom within BBC Television Centre in West London. The BBC has global offices worldwide: Cologne, Paris, Florida, Los Angeles, New York, So Paulo, Toronto, Beijing, Tokio, Mumbai, Singapore, Sidney and Hong Kong. One of the most important current affairs news programme is BBC World News America presented by Katty Kay, BBC correspondent based at the Washington, D.C. bureau of BBC News. World News Today, a news programme presented by Zeinab Badawi for audiences who want more depth to their daily coverage with focuses on Europe, Middle East and Africa, is equally preminent. Since its inception, and more so since its extensive association with the BBC News channel, the countdown to the hourly news bulletin has been a feature of the channel's presentation, accompanied by music composed by David Lowe. The current style of countdown features reporters and technical staff in many different locations working to bring news stories to air. As with sister channel BBC News, the countdown concludes with the channel logo. BBC World News is at the heart of the BBC's commitment to global broadcasting. As an integral member of BBC Global News, sitting alongside BBC World Service radio, BBC World News delivers impartial, in-depth analysis of breaking news, as well as looking at the stories behind the news not just what is happening, but why. The BBC is not permitted to carry advertising or sponsorship on its public services. This keeps them independent of commercial interests and ensures they can be run purely to serve the general public interest.

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Producers have strict guidelines for dealing with issues of taste, sexual matters, violence and strong language which are outlined in the BBC watershed policy.

PROGRAMMING
Live news programmes: BBC World News The latest international news from the BBC BBC World News America Comprehensive news and analysis with Katty Kay. Broadcast from the BBC's Washington D.C. Studio Newsday - Live international news from London and Singapore every weekday. With Babita Sharma, Kasia Madera (London) and Rico Hizon (Singapore) GMT George Alagiah (Monday-Thursday) and Stephen Sackur (Friday) present the latest news developments from across the globe, with updates on business and sport Impact Global news as it affects audiences around the world. Mishal Husain (Monday-Thursday) and Lyse Doucet (Friday) present breaking news, debate and analysis, using the full range of BBC Correspondents mostly from the Asia Pacific nations and across the world The Hub Nik Gowing assesses the days events with his trademark rigorous interviewing and detailed analysis, alongside a summary of the days news as it affects audiences in South Asia and the Middle East World News Today The news programme for audiences who want more depth to their daily coverage. With a focus on Europe, Middle East and Africa, Zeinab Badawi (Monday, ThursdayFriday) and Kirsty Lang (Tuesday-Wednesday) bring context and understanding to the most complex of events Other live programmes: Asia Business Report Live from Singapore the essential business news as it breaks and a look ahead to the news that will shape the business day Sport Today All the latest sports news and results from around the globe World Business Report The latest business news with informed analysis from the world's financial centres World Have Your Say - Each week, BBC World viewers can join the multimedia phone-in programme, broadcast alongside BBC World Service Radio and BBC Online, and share their views on topical issues of the day with a global audience Pre-recorded programmes include: Africa Business Report A monthly look at business across the continent, talking to the people and businesses who are changing the economic face of Africa Click A comprehensive guide to all the latest gadgets, websites, games and computer industry news Dateline London Foreign correspondents based in London give their views on the week's international news

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Develop Or Die - investigations and reports on the challenges, problems and successes of developing nations as they seek to increase their wealth or, in some cases, get out of poverty Equestrian World - More than competition, Equestrian World concentrates on the spirit of the sport and the lifestyle surrounding it. Fast Track The series with the latest news about travel, from the industry itself to advice on the latest deals and destinations for people travelling on business or for leisure HARDtalk Stephen Sackur talks to newsmakers and personalities from across the globe India Business Report India Business Report provides an indispensable guide to the big stories to watch out for in the week ahead Middle East Business Report Getting behind the issues of trade, business and economics in the Gulf, to reveal how this important economic region works and interacts with the rest of the world Newsnight Jeremy Paxman looks back at the best of the week's films and discussions from Newsnight Our World Features the BBC's finest news programmes on current issues around the world. The documentaries showcase BBC journalism at its best with programmes that expose and evaluate global topics Reporters A weekly showcase of the best reports from the BBC's global network of correspondents Russia Business Report The BBC's team of business experts report from across Russia. While getting under the skin of this complex country they will also be reporting on the companies and business leaders who are becoming major players in the global economy Spirit Of Yachting - This series explores some of the most exciting events in the world of sailing. The films tell the human stories behind the race and reveal the passion, emotion and dedication needed to take part in any world class sporting occasion Talking Movies Tom Brook presents all the latest news and reviews from the U.S. cinema scene with reports from Hollywood and New York The Doha Debates - Each month in Qatar invited speakers debate the burning issues of the Arab and Islamic world in front of an audience who are encouraged to participate by asking questions The Record Europe An in-depth look at the politics of Europe presented by Shirin Wheeler (only shown in Europe; also shown on BBC Parliament in the UK) The World Debate - This programme puts the important questions to representatives from global politics, finance, business, the arts, media and other areas. The panels and contributing audiences discuss topical themes Third Eye - An examination of the economic fundamentals of twelve countries, looking beyond balance sheets and stock markets. A macro perspective from some of the best economic and business journalists This Week A weekly showcase for reports from the BBC's network of over 250 global correspondents UK Report A weekly showcase for reports from the BBC's network of reporters and correspondents across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom Weekend World Presented by BBC broadcaster Paddy O'Connell, Weekend World is a lively look at viewers' comments on World News programmes and a brief snapshot of what's coming up at the weekend The Health Show presented by Dr Ayan Panja and Dr Shini Somara is transmitted four times each weekend and covers the most important developments in global health, including interviews with the world's leading health expert

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World Have Your Say Extra - World Have Your Say Extra gives BBC World News viewers another opportunity to join the multimedia phone-in programme, broadcast alongside BBC World Service Radio and BBC Online, and share their views on topical issues of the day with a global audience

NEWS PRESENTERS
George Alagiah and Stephen Sackur present GMT, Mishal Husain and Lyse Doucet present Impact, Nik Gowing presents The Hub, Zeinab Badawi and Kirsty Lang present World News Today, Katty Kay presents BBC World News America and Ros Atkins presents World Have Your Say. Babita Sharma from London and Kasia Madera present Newsday with Rico Hizon or Sharanjit Leyl from Singapore. BBC World News presenters include Martine Dennis, Peter Dobbie, Komla Dumor, David Eades, Mike Embley, Karin Giannone, Geeta Guru-Murthy, Lucy Hockings, Naga Munchetty, Adnan Nawaz, Jamie Robertson, Babita Sharma, Owen Thomas and Alastair Yates. Other occasional presenters include Martine Croxall, Pooneh Ghoddoosi, Deborah Mackenzie, Kasia Madera, Sonali Shah, Sue Thearle, Nisha Pillai, Kate Silverton and Tim Willcox. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_News

BBC WORLD NEWS AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The target of reducing extreme poverty as well as the number of people lacking access to drinking water by half has been reached five years ahead of the 2015 deadline. Primary school enrollment of girls now equals that of boys and child and maternal mortality rates have significantly fallen. However, in 2015 more than 600 million people will still lack access to clean water, almost one billion people will continue to live on less than $1.25 per day, and mothers and children will continue to needlessly die. Gender equality remains unfulfilled, the gap between rural and urban areas is still large and greenhouse gas emissions continue to pose a threat to the global ecosystems. The success and achievement of the MDGs mostly depends on the fulfillment of MDG-8, the global partnership for development. The current economic crisis that has hit the developed world must not reverse nor slow the progress that has been made so far. Established in 2000, the MDGs have brought together governments, the UN, the private sector and civil society to improve the lives of people around the world.

BBC WORLD NEWS- INFO & POSITION

The BBC's primary news programme most relevant to the RomeMUN is certainly the channel's World News. Officially created in 2008, the programme provides our viewers with Englishlanguage international current affairs 24 hours a day in more than 200 countries and territories across the world. Over the years, the audience of the BBC's World News has reached about 76 million viewers, a number that has grown in the recent years with the developments of mobile technologies and platforms which make our programme available anywhere on the globe. The

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programme is deeply rooted in the beliefs that have guided the BBC since its inception in delivering impartial and in-depth analysis and breaking news identifying the stories as such as well as the reasons behind them. With respect to the RomeMUN, this means not only reporting the news pertaining to the Millennium Development Goals, but also explaining the facts and understanding their causes. While at the conference, the reporters must keep in mind that the channel does not carry advertising on its public services, granting it independence and objectivity in serving the general public interest. At the same time, however, the company can still be considered the highest representative of British broadcasting at home and abroad. With such a status come equivalent responsibilities and positions. These include a Westernized perspective on sensitive topics which however never hinders a critical stance. While security and diplomatic concerns are the backbone of our international reporting, the BBC World News journalists should not be hesitant in their judgement and criticism where constructive and unbiased. As previously mentioned, the BBC World News' status within the international media has been granted thanks to its attention to the topics dealt with by the UN MDGs. Programs such as Focus on Africa, Asia Business Report, Our World and Middle East Report demonstrate the breadth of world coverage and topics discussed. More specifically, the BBC will strongly advocate the achievements of the goals while also reporting the faults of the project identifying those goals which have not yet been met or whose progress has stalled. While at the conference and in order to define the channel's perspective, it is important that our reporters focus both on Western positions identifying the improvements needed in every single area, while also focusing on countries located in the regions discussed most in the report (North Africa, Western/Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa). We therefore have to collect basic information but, most importantly, controversial statements specifically regarding the willingness or lack thereof- to achieve the MDGs. Here are two sample articles (one on the 2010MDGs and a recent one) that illustrate the objective and detailed positions adopted by the programme vis vis the MDGs: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11364717 / ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17270014

ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUN'S AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

GENERAL ASSEMBLY - PLENARY MEETING-GA

MDG 1 - ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 1.A + 1.B - POVERTY ISSUE (REF. 2.A - SCHOOLING) HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN 1$ PER DAY FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL

With regards to the issue of poverty, we must highlight the fact that - as reported in the MDG Report - for the first time, the number of people living in extreme poverty fell in all developing regions from 47per cent in 1990 to 24 per cent in 2008 a reduction from 2 to 1.4 billion people.

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In addition, the global poverty rate ($1.25 a day) in 2010 fell to less than half the 1990 rate. The first of the MDGs will therefore have been achieved long before the proposed deadline of 2015. At the same time however, in order to maintain the aforementioned level of objectivity and watchdog role, reporters must press African and Southern Asian attendees with questions on what more can be done to ameliorate the situation of many, since estimates still predict that about 1 billion people will be living in extreme poverty in 2015. Similarly, while we need to highlight the undeniable progress made by China and India, it is of fundamental importance to question the Chinese and Indian delegations on their peoples working conditions: according to the ILO, the global proportion of workers living below $1.25 a day dropped from 26.4 per cent to 14.8 per cent between 2000 and 2011. To maintain impartiality, we need to ask questions to representatives both of developed and developing countries as the average worker in the developing world produces only 1/5 of its counterpart in a developed country. Another issue which we should try to understand and focus our attention on is the level of undernourishment which has remained constant (850 million people ca.) despite falling poverty rates. We must therefore push for answers on why progress on nutrition has stalled, what more can be done and who is to blame. We must also produce articles on why 4 out of 5 refugees are hosted by a developing country as well as the implications and causes of forced displacement: in this regard an interesting angle to adopt is to contextualize this argument within the middle eastern geopolitical situation also given the fact that the largest refugee populations at the end of 2011 continued to be Afghans (2.7 million) and Iraqis (1.4 million) which together represent 4/10 of all refugees under the UNHCR mandate. With regards to poverty, the BBC has recently produced an interesting programme -Why poverty?- which contrasts technological advancement and global progress with global poverty: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-20398513 . WORLD HAS CHANCE TO END EXTREME POVERTY FOR GOOD CAMERON http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20163840

David Cameron has said there is a "real opportunity" to end extreme global poverty within the next few decades. The prime minister said politicians had been talking about the goal for years but "this generation" had a chance of fulfilling the long-held ambition. He was speaking after hosting a meeting of politicians from around the world to discuss antipoverty strategies. Mr Cameron has been asked by the UN to look into how poverty in developing countries should be tackled after 2015.

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On Thursday, he co-chaired the first meeting of the United Nations panel, along with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. 'Great progress' After the meeting, attended by 26 countries, Mr Cameron said "great progress" had been made since the launch of the Millennium Development Goals in the late 1990s but the international community must aspire to do even more. All countries had obligations to do their bit to help meet the anti-poverty targets, he added - citing the need for the UK and other wealthier countries to be transparent about how their aid budget are spent. "The principle aim of the panel should be finishing the job of ending extreme poverty...That is something that politicians have been talking about for a while but for the first time I think this generation really has the opportunity to do it." The Millennium Development Goals, set to be completed by 2015, are pledges by UN member countries to increase living standards in poorer parts of the world. The first of them - reducing poverty among some of the very poorest - has been achieved, due largely to big increases in income in recent years in China and India. But attempts to reach other goals have been less successful. Mr Cameron said there needed to be a renewed focus on tackling the causes of poverty highlighting the importance of reducing corruption, promoting the rights of women and minorities and backing freedom of expression and association. The panel will meet again in Monrovia and Jakarta next year, before reporting to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Most of the other attendees of the London gathering are ministers from foreign governments or heads of economic committees. The Indonesian president, who is on a three-day state visit to Britain, said the UN panel had a "common vision" over how to respond to the challenges facing the developed and developing world. "I believe that poverty eradication can only be achieved by raising the living standards of the poor around the world. "This can be done by creating job opportunities and providing accessible and affordable health services, education facilities, housing, clean water and sanitation." BBC international development correspondent David Loyn said that in finding a successor for the Millennium Development Goals, China and some African countries will want to stop what they see as further interference into governance. But the big donor nations in the West will need guarantees of transparency and better accountability for governments who receive aid, if aid is to continue, our correspondent added. LATIN AMERICA POVERTY LEVEL LOWEST IN 20 YEARS, SAYS UN http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15957422 POVERTY MOST SERIOUS WORLD PROBLEM, SAYS GLOBAL POLL http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/01_january/17/poll.shtml DOLLAR BENCHMARK: THE RISE OF THE $1-A-DAY STATISTIC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17312819

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BANKING ON ERADICATING POVERTY http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-19960777 AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 1.C - HUNGER HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HUNGER AFRICA SHOWS PROGRESS ON HUNGER, REPORT SAYS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19907273

Africa has had more success than South Asia in tackling the problem of hunger over the past decade, according to a report on world food production. Food shortages and malnutrition have been reduced in many parts of Africa, the Global Hunger Index says. But it remains "extremely alarming" in countries such as Eritrea and Burundi. The report says India, meanwhile, which has shown strong economic growth, has a disappointing record on tackling the problem. The wide-ranging report also says the world as a whole is running out of productive land as populations increase. Undernourished Produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide, the paper identifies 20 countries which have "alarming" or "extremely alarming" levels of hunger. It gives countries a score based on the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of under fives who are underweight, and the mortality rate of under fives. Countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are the worst affected, it says. As well as Eritrea and Burundi, which both lie in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean island of Haiti is categorised as "extremely alarming", with more than 50% of the population undernourished. Although Haiti had been showing some improvement, the effects of the massive earthquake of 2010 pushed it back into the "extremely alarming" category, the report says. On the whole, Africa's relatively good performance in tackling hunger over the past decade is partly due to fewer wars, and the fact that governments have become better at concentrating on improving the health of young children. In South Asia, however, it singles out India for its lack of improvement, despite what it says is impressive economic growth and successful hi-tech industries. 'Conserve resources'

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The report says income inequality and the low status of women have had a negative effect on the nutrition of millions of poor families. The organisations behind the report are calling for governments to do more to safeguard natural resources and address the problems associated with demographic change. They say climate change is causing flooding, drought and environmental degradation, which all threaten agricultural practices. Rising global energy prices are also adding to the problem as farmers struggle with heightened costs associated with importing agricultural goods. They want to see more efficient farming methods, and for the land rights of poor farmers to be strengthened. The authors also say we are are consuming resources, including fertile land and water, far too quickly. "Agricultural production must increase substantially to meet the demands of a growing and increasingly wealthy population," said Tom Arnold, Concern Worldwide's chief executive officer. "Yet to avoid more stress on land, water and energy resources, and to ensure that all have access to adequate food, that production must be sustainable and must prioritise the poor." REPORT: URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO AVERT GLOBAL HUNGER http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12249909 WORLD FAILING TO REDUCE HUNGER http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2329479.stm 500M CHILDREN 'AT RISK OF EFFECTS OF MALNUTRITION' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17034134 SOMALIA FACING 'FRESH HUNGER EMERGENCY' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18720207

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL-SC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICTS MALI ISLAMISTS 'BUYING CHILD SOLDIERS, IMPOSING SHARIA' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19905905

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Islamists who seized control of part of Mali are amassing money from ransoms and drug trafficking while imposing Sharia law, says a senior UN official. They are also buying child soldiers, paying families $600 (375) per child, Ivan Simonovic said after a fact-finding visit to the country. Islamic extremists seized two-thirds of Mali in March when a military coup plunged the country into chaos. Mr Simonovic painted a grim picture of human rights abuses there. Women's rights were being particularly restricted, said Mr Simonovic, the UN Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Human Rights, citing the compilation of a "frightening" list of unmarried women who were pregnant or had borne children. More women were being forced into marriage - with a wife costing less than $1,000 - and some were then being resold in "a smokescreen for enforced prostitution", added Mr Simonovic. "Human rights violations are becoming more systematic," he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York, adding that Islamists had "imposed an extremist version of Sharia". Amputations and floggings The fact-finding mission gleaned information from people travelling to and from northern Mali, where he said Islamists were imposing harsher punishments for crimes. So far, he said, there had been three public executions, eight amputations and two floggings. There were allegations of torture and inhuman prison conditions in southern Mali, where the government retains control, Mr Simonovic added. He urged authorities to investigate these cases if they expected UN help as Mali's army tries to reclaim the north. The 15-member Security Council seems prepared to back an international intervention force in the country, under the right conditions, says the BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN. She says council members are deeply concerned about al-Qaeda linked extremists taking advantage of the anarchy in northern Mali. DROUGHT HEIGHTENS CHILD SOLDIER RECRUITMENT IN SOMALIA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14212608 CHILDREN OF CONFLICT http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.sht ml UN CITES MORE GROUPS USING CHILD SOLDIERS IN REPORT http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13369029

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WHEN SCHOOLS ARE CASUALTIES OF WAR http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18509093 WOUNDED CHILDREN | CHILDREN OF CONFLICT | BBC WORLD SERVICE http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/wounded. shtml

AGENDA TOPIC 2 RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLE HUGE TURNOUT FOR CATALAN INDEPENDENCE RALLY http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19564640

Some 1.5 million people have been taking part in Catalonia's annual independence rally in Barcelona, according to police. Tens of thousands of people poured into the city waving the region's independence flag and brandishing the colours red and yellow. This year's march aimed to be the biggest ever - and a protest against the Spanish government's tax laws. Catalonia wants Madrid to review its tax agreement and provide a bailout. The size of the turnout for the rally, which is held annually on 11 September to mark the Siege of Barcelona 300 years ago, forced organisers to change its route. Alfred Bosch, an MP from the Republican left of Catalonia, told the BBC: "All the flags I can see are the pro-independence flags of Catalonia with the lonely star right in the middle of the triangle. "And everybody is wearing these flags. I have never seen so many pro-independence flags in my all life." Protester Teresa Cabanes told Reuters: "This is a blow for the government. People like me came from everywhere. I don't think they were expecting something as big." The huge volume of people overwhelmed the mobile phone network, which shut down for hours as a result, reports say. Fiscal autonomy

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Spain's economic crisis, which has left one out of four people unemployed, has sharpened Catalonia's demand for fiscal independence from Spain, as well as political autonomy. Catalonia, which is Spain's wealthiest region and represents a fifth of the Spanish economy, wants to be able to raise its own taxes and spend them. Last month, Catalonia demanded a bailout from Madrid of 5bn euros (4bn), on the basis that it believes the central government owes the region that much in overpaid taxes. But, as with the rest of Spain, the region faces big economic challenges. Catalonia has to take out 13bn euros (10bn) in loans this year to refinance maturing debt, on top of funding its deficit for the current year. The BBC's Madrid correspondent, Tom Burridge, also says economists have warned that the Catalan government has barely enough money to pay its public sector workers. Regional bailouts Pro-autonomy leaders claim Catalonia pays a disproportionate level of taxes to Madrid in relation to the funding it receives. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said fiscal independence for Catalonia would achieve nothing in the country's overall battle against economic collapse. Mr Rajoy and Catalonia's regional leader, Artur Mas, are due to meet on 20 September. Spain's struggling economy has declined for three consecutive quarters as it continues to suffer from the effects of its property bust caused by the financial crisis. Other regions have appealed to the government for bailouts. The latest, Andalusia, asked for an immediate injection of 1bn euros (800m) last week. Valencia and Murcia have also requested bailouts in recent weeks. FALKLAND ISLANDS OIL DISPUTE: UK HITS BACK AT ARGENTINA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17395537 'PALESTINE' TO BE USED IN WEST BANK PUBLIC DOCUMENTS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20929367 SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE: REFERENDUM DEAL GOALS 'ACHIEVED' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-19937388 KOSOVO POLICE CLASH WITH PROTESTERS AT SERBIA BORDER http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16564431

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION-WHO

MDG 6 - COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 6.A + 6.B - MOTIONED IN THIS ORDER HAVE HALTED THE INCIDENCE OF HIV BY 2015 UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV

CHILD MORTALITY, MATERNAL HEALTH, HIV All these topics can be interrelated and can appeal to a specific audience in the UK. Between 1990 and 2010, under-five mortality declined from 97 deaths per 1,000 births to 63 in 2010. Just like in the other instances, our reporters must stress the emotional appeal of the issue and must highlight the dramatic situation in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia where in 2010 6.2 million children (82% on a global scale) died. We should focus our reporting on the anachronistic impact of illnesses as measles on child mortality, and what we should highlight is that almost 20 million children still did not receive appropriate medical treatments. In addition, I suggest we relate this topic with the issue of maternal health and mortality highlighting that an estimated 287 thousand deaths occurred in 2010 and that sub-Saharan Africa - just like in the case of gender equality - represented the region mostly hit (57% of all deaths). In order to stimulate interest in our varied audience, we must ensure that our questions are directed to both representatives of developed and developing countries to assess the reasons why maternal mortality rates were 15 times higher in developing regions than in developed ones. Something else we can do, is to draw comparisons with the UK NHS and the accepted practices of antenatal care in the world. It is important to mention that according to the World Health Organization what is needed to prevent maternal mortality is at least four antenatal visits including screenings and treatments for infectious diseases which clearly does not occur everywhere in the world. Another angle that we should adopt is to report on the high rates of births among adolescents, perhaps with a focus on sub-Saharan Africas rate of 120 births per 1,000 adolescent women. While treating this topic we cannot avoid citing the issue of contraceptives and we have to relate it to the issue of HIV AIDS. This is a topic which is extremely sensitive and relevant not only to the developing world but also to the developed one, including the UK. We should particularly focus on the high percentage of new infections (70%) just in sub-Saharan Africa as well as on the fact that by 2010 34 million people were living with HIV, an increase of 17 percent from 2001. We can also link this issue with the previously discussed one of education by demonstrating the importance of health education in the prevention of AIDS: such knowledge remains low in sub-

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Saharan Africa, at 26 per cent among young women and 35 per cent among young men (aged 1524). To conclude we can also mention the impact of aid in this regard and hold the representatives of the developed world to account for the decline in health aid over the past decade with only a small resurgence between 2009 and 2010 from 2.5 to 3.2 percent of total aid for health. Here are some articles on the importance of aid http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ world-17736946 ; and on child mortality http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19581433 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18018071 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17034134.

BRAZIL HIV/AIDS STRATEGY NEEDS NEW FOCUS, CAMPAIGNERS SAY http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18980108

Mara Moreira lives in a country where the policy for combating Aids has won international acclaim. But 18 years after she was diagnosed as HIV positive, she is deeply worried. Mrs Moreira, 36, believes Brazil has lost its way in the struggle against Aids and that the current strategy is flawed. "We are facing a crisis," she says. "Because of the false idea that the epidemic is under control and that all is well." She is not alone, with many campaigners and analysts raising concerns both about the effectiveness of treatment and sexual health awareness campaigns. In 1996, Brazil was the first developing country to commit to free and universal access to the antiretroviral drugs needed to treat HIV. It has also challenged patents on key treatments to ensure access to cheaper generic medicines. With high-profile safe sex campaigns and free distribution of condoms at events such as carnivals, Brazil was praised for its approach. The World Bank predicted in 1992 that Brazil would have 1.2 million cases by 2000, but in fact the authorities report approximately half that number today. However, with Aids patients living longer and the number of people infected still growing, critics say the provision of anti-retroviral drugs is not enough. According to government estimates, 250,000 Brazilians are unaware they are HIV-positive. Pedro Chequer, UNAids co-ordinator in Brazil, says Brazil must increase its efforts to reach these people while there is still time to treat them. "The Brazilian Aids Programme must be revisited. If we stay on the same path, there is no way we will reach universal coverage," he said. Crowded hospitals

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Campaign groups also say that patients do not always receive the regular health checks and support required to ensure proper care. "We have Aids drugs and that is great. But when we need any other medicine or social assistance, it's very difficult," says Jose Luis da Silva, diagnosed with HIV four years ago. Mr Silva, who is 47 and unemployed, has been sleeping in Rio's bus station for the past four months, surviving on a 70 reais (US$35; 22) monthly government allowance. Eduardo Barbosa, one of the directors of the government's department for combating Aids, defends the record of Brazil's national programme. He says the government recently bought more than three million test kits to improve the rate of diagnosis. "One of the reasons for Brazil's successful response to the epidemic is that the federal government is working alongside local government and campaign groups," Mr Barbosa said. The government is also adapting, he said, "to a new reality where HIV-positive people have an indeterminate life span". However Mr Barbosa admits: "More and more people go into the public health system each year and some hospitals are overcrowded." Eduardo Gomez, an assistant professor at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, says Brazil's "success story" started to decline in the last four years, in part due to less international aid. "Brazil used to be perceived as a receiver, but started to donate towards the work of tackling Aids. "Lula [Brazil's former president] was very committed to marketing Brazil as a strong power that contributed to Africa and tackling disease abroad. So the international community started to shift attention to Africa and other parts of Latin America." Brazil invests an average of 1.2bn reais a year ($US580m; 378m) in its Aids programme and no longer depends on international help. But campaigners say the lack of foreign aid has weakened the very groups who used to raise public awareness, while the government is toning down its message. 'Consistent message' President Dilma Rousseff's government recently replaced two television campaigns aimed at promoting safe sex among gay men, one of which showed two young men flirting at a bar. A fairy brought them a condom when they were about to kiss. It was meant to air during Carnival, but was replaced at the last minute by a video with statistics about Aids and no gay couples. Mr Barbosa says there was no "veto", only a change in marketing strategy. But Veriano Terto Junior, co-ordinator of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary Aids Association, says the change was due to pressure from religious groups in Congress. "The government has lost its boldness and is faltering in its ability to produce a firm, calm message to get to the people it must reach," he says. At the International Aids Conference, being held this week in Washington, the director of Brazil's Aids Department, Dirceu Greco, insisted the country is constantly seeking to improve treatment for people with HIV. Mr Greco says the Brazilian Aids programme is consistent, and not susceptible to changes depending on who is in office. But it seems many of those whose lives are directly affected by HIV and Aids are not convinced. GLOBAL EFFORT ON WORLD AIDS DAY http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7122413.stm

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DAVOS 2012: BILL GATES COMMITS $750M TO FIGHT AIDS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16738888 POPE'S CONDOM VIEWS CLARIFIED BY VATICAN http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11821422 DRUG-RESISTANT HIV 'ON INCREASE' IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18924648

AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.E IN COOPERATION WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, PROVIDE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL DRUGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES INDIA MOVES IN TO KEEP ESSENTIAL MEDICINES AFFORDABLE http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17296330

In a dark basement beneath a block of flats in central Mumbai, the Jivan Jyoti Drug Bank runs its operations. Backed by charitable donations, it distributes medicines to the poor at discounted rates. Some two dozen people, mostly women, sit on a mat on the floor, awaiting their turn to buy treatments for serious illnesses such as kidney and liver disease. Trustee Manjuben Vora says the people here receive no government help. "They do not have much money. Even if we give them medicines at concessional rates, even then it is not affordable for them." New regulation Prompted by the Supreme Court, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has put forward a new pricing policy for essential medicines designed to improve drug provision and affordability. "There are a lot of people who cannot afford these drugs and there is no other way to access them," says Sujay Shetty, Pharma Life Sciences Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "We do not have a national health service here. So the government is very sensitive to that." The draft National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy 2011 (NPPP) recommends introducing a new market-based pricing mechanism and also increasing the number of drugs that are regulated. Start Quote This is something that makes every policymaker nervous

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Sujay ShettyPricewaterhouseCoopers However, reception of the new policy has been less than lukewarm. Both industry and campaign groups have criticised the plans. A committee of ministers are studying the draft proposals and are expected to finalise the policy by the end of this month. Widening its scope Currently 74 bulk drug products and 1,577 formulations based on these drugs have their prices capped. Last year, the Ministry of Health issued an updated National List of Essential Medicines, which lays out the medicines needed to meet the country's top health priorities. The NPPP intends to regulate all 348 of the essential medicines on this list, as well as any other combinations of these drugs that are produced. This would widen the scope of price controls considerably. A ceiling would be determined by the weighted average price of the top three brands by value. According to the NPPP, the move would see 60% of India's drug market fall under regulation and deliver price cuts (of varying degrees) across more than 80% of essential medicines. 'Negative impact' India's pharmaceutical industry is estimated to be worth about $4.5bn (2.8bn), according to Corporate Catalyst India, a consultancy. Industry players argue that the sector is highly competitive and that prices are already among the cheapest in the world. They are concerned that the proposed price controls would cover too many drugs, and hurt profitability and innovation. The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, a lobby group representing 18 large generics companies, claims new price ceilings would cost the sector more than $600m in lost revenues. According to its secretary-general D G Shah, it will also "harm export market development". Lupin is one of India's largest generics firms, producing drugs for both domestic and overseas markets. Should the new price controls be implemented, managing director Kamal K Sharma estimates that about a third of their output would be affected. "I think the most negative impact of this is in terms of dollars or rupees invested in research," says Mr Sharma. "It brings down the sentiment for the industry, and it goes without saying that pharmaceuticals is a research and knowledge intensive business." Others have questioned whether the proposed measures would deliver cheaper drugs at all, with some even suggesting that the pricing mechanism is flawed and could actually skew prices upwards. Profits v affordability There are also concerns that should production of a drug cease to be profitable, there is a risk that companies may discontinue the production of certain essential medicines. Of the 74 bulk drugs covered by the existing regulatory regime, only 47 remain under production, and if more were to be stopped, the move may prove counter-productive. A final version of the policy is due before the end of this month but with opposition on both sides, Mr Shetty thinks it is unlikely to make it through without significant changes. "We're largely a poor nation and affordability of drugs is a very key issue, and one is sympathetic to that. This is something that makes every policymaker nervous," says Mr Shetty

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"But if the ultimate intention is to promote affordability, this seems to be not a very perfect mechanism to get there." WORLD DEAL FOR CHEAP DRUGS STALLS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2529195.stm THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ARE A SET OF TARGETS TO REDUCE GLOBAL POVERTY AND IMPROVE LIVING STANDARDS BY 2015. CLICK ON THE TABS BELOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE TARGETS. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/millennium_development_goals/html/partnersh ip.stm OXFAM CALLS FOR DRUG FIRM ACTION http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7113584.stm WAKING UP TO CONGO'S SLEEPING SICKNESS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4693415.stm DOCTORS AIM TO MAKE GLOBAL BIRTHS SAFER http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5198950.stm

UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION-UNESCO

AND

CULTURAL

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION TARGET 2.A ENSURE THAT, BY 2015, CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE, WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE A FULL COURSE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING CAN PRIVATE SCHOOLS TEACH THE WORLD?35 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20641059

35

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20641059

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Opening horizons: Pupils in Lagos - but Nigeria now has the highest number of children without access to even the most basic education Despite international pledges, there are still millions of pupils around the world without a basic education. Could the private sector be a more effective way of reaching these millions of pupils who are missing out? Should donors be supporting low-cost, low-fee private schools, rather than trying to build state education systems? Or would such schools further deepen the barriers to education for the poorest and most excluded? A meeting at the House of Commons last week heard strongly opposing views on such private sector involvement. Here are some of the arguments for and against, from Sir Michael Barber and Professor Keith Lewin. Sir Michael BarberChief education adviser for Pearson and formerly head of delivery unit in 10, Downing Street for Tony Blair "Getting every child in the world into primary school and learning is proving to be a tough challenge. In spite of repeated global commitments, we are not currently on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015. At present over 60 million primary children are not in school at all and another 250 million or more are in school but barely learning anything worthwhile. Apart from being a betrayal of human rights this is storing up huge problems for those children and their families, and for all of us. In some countries such as Nigeria the number of out-of-school children is actually rising. In spite of the best efforts of some non-governmental organisations (NGOs), some governments and the international donor community, it is clear therefore that the current approach is not working. Around the developing world poor parents themselves understand this all too clearly. They know that the only route out of poverty for their children is a good education. When the state fails what do they do? The answer for many is to choose a low cost private school, charging perhaps 5-10 dollars a month. There has been a vast expansion of the low cost private sector in the last 15 years. Across the Punjab in Pakistan, out of 20 million children around 9 million are in these schools; and in Lahore, Karachi and Delhi in India, around 70% of children attend them. Tanzania has been among the countries where progress has been reported in the drive to provide a primary education for all

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By Western or Pacific Asian standards these are poor schools, but they are usually better than the government alternative, often significantly so. So many poor parents have voted with their feet that it is no longer possible to solve the problem of universal primary education without taking the low-cost private sector into account. The cat is out of the bag. Some leap to the conclusion that if the public sector is not up to the job then it should get out of the way and leave it to the private sector, but a purely private approach is no more likely to work than a purely public one. The road to hell in education is paved with false dichotomies. What we need is to unleash the moral force, energy, commitment and investment that the two sectors combined could bring to bear. What would this look like in practice? First, governments need to ask the right question: "How do we get every child in our country a good education as fast as possible?" They need a reform strategy that will benefit every child, not a list of initiatives or boutique projects. As many countries have done in other sectors such as health and transport, this means government should be funder (and yes they will need to spend more) regulator and quality assurer of education - but not the sole provider. Often NGO and for-profit providers of schooling are doing a better job; so learn from them, make them part of the system and see them as part of the solution. On enrolment drives, urge parents to get their children into a school, regardless of whether it is public or private. While millions of very poor parents choose low-cost private education, some of the poorest can't afford even low fees. This group often can't afford 'free' government schools either because there are hidden fees, for uniforms or sometimes bribes. One solution here is to learn from the Punjab Education Foundation in Pakistan which, with Department for International Development support, is providing targeted vouchers to poor families whose children aren't in school. It is an experiment involving 140,000 children. The early signs are encouraging. Any school that accepts the vouchers has to demonstrate that children are making progress - and they are. Alongside this of course every effort should be made to improve government schools too. This means getting the basics of management right - for example, it is an outrage that across India teacher absenteeism is often 25%. It means fixing facilities by getting the money devolved to school level. It means tracking the data on enrolment and attendance at every level and acting when there is a problem. It means appointing managers at district level on merit, not for political reasons. And it means tackling corruption head on wherever necessary. The major donors need to encourage governments to set ambitious goals and get behind strategies such as these. They should reject the notion that money alone is the answer or that all it takes is a little more patience. How long do we think we've got? Equally they should reject the notion that it can't be done. We know what to do; we just need the courage and will to get on with it." "The proposition that development aid should be used to support private, fee-paying, for-profit schools to educate poor children in low-income countries sounds odd to many people. But there are those in the debate about universal access to primary education who have managed to convince themselves that this makes sense.

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And they are not talking about "free schools" or academies, in the UK sense, or other types of grant maintained arrangements, but truly private for-profit, fee-paying schools, targeted on the poorest. As I understand their rhetoric, it seems to argue that such private schools are sweeping up the poorest un-enrolled children all over Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. But the rising numbers of children in school in poor countries, up by more than 50 million children since 2000, have not been mostly enrolled in such fee-paying private schools. This progress has been overwhelmingly the result of public investment in public schools. The greatest enrolment gains have been after school fees have been abolished in government schools. Those who have not noticed this must have been unusually somnambulant. Where there has been growth in low-price private school numbers, it is often because of specific circumstances, such as where a high level of migration into cities has not been matched by an expansion in public services. When there is access to state schools for migrants and more state schools are built, such as in Beijing, the demand for low price fee-paying schools falls away. Those proposing more support for private for-profit schools also seem to believe that such schools consistently out-perform equivalent state schools. But it's impossible to generalise about whether for-profit or public schools are better, because the research produces contradictory results. There is a large overlap between the performance of different types of school. Some studies show for-profit schools achieving better academic results than very poor state schools. But this may not be much of an achievement if it means being the equivalent of three years behind the national curriculum rather than four. A school only has to be a bit better and affordable for it to begin to attract children from a worse school. Private for profit schools cluster in wealthier parts of poor or rural areas, since they follow the money. Low accountability, poor governance, and little transparency afflict both private and state schools and are often associated with unacceptably low levels of achievement. Even the title "private schooling" is a misnomer. There is only schooling which is privately financed. There is no "private physics" or "private history". If some state schools are better than some private for-profit schools, which they invariably are, then the problem is not the ownership but the operation. There are also questions about the quality of teaching - as those promoting private schools also seem to believe that teachers working for a fraction of a state school teachers' salary can still be as effective and not be exploited. Such for-profit schools can only be low price if they pay teachers little more than a dollar a day and exploit local labour markets for unemployed, untrained secondary school leavers who, more often than not in South Asia, are female. Turnover of such teachers is typically high, career development is not available, there is no job security, and pedagogy unlikely to be innovative. If teachers are at the centre of efforts to improve quality, as most recent international reports suggest they must be, then such fee-paying schools will have trouble competing for the best teachers. Another consequence of fees is that children and households desperate for educational advancement may borrow in the micro-credit markets that typically charge annual interest rates of at least 40%. (...)

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WHY IS QATAR INVESTING SO MUCH IN EDUCATION? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18151511 GORDON BROWN CALLS FOR GLOBAL FUND FOR EDUCATION TARGET http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16705691 DISABLED CHILDREN EXCLUDED FROM EDUCATION http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15183284 FAIRNESS CHALLENGE FROM FIRST GLOBAL EDUCATION 'LAUREATE' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15546976

AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGET 8.F + INSIGHT IN COOPERATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, MAKE AVAILABLE BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS Education is certainly a theme we as the BBC can relate to, first of all because of its impact on global prosperity and secondly because of the nomination last July of former UK PM Gordon Brown as UN Special Representative for Global Education. In this regard, we need to prove even more our lack of bias by criticizing the fact that progress has taken place only between 1999 and 2004 and that since then progress has stalled significantly. Also, while reporting the progress that has been made, we must delve into the correlation between poverty and out of school secondary school children as well as the disparity between urban and rural children of the same age. We must not hesitate to question Southern Asian and sub-Saharan leaders on the reasons why in their regions there were still 122 million people between 15-24 years old unable to read and write. Here is a great sample by Sean Coughlan on education: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business19661898 SMART HAND PUMPS PROMISE CLEANER WATER IN AFRICA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18358766

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Rural communities across Africa may soon benefit from improved water supplies thanks to mobile phone technology. UK researchers have developed data transmitters that fit inside hand pumps and send text messages if the devices break down. The "smart" hand pumps will be trialled shortly in 70 villages in Kenya. Details of the new approach have been published in the Journal of Hydroinformatics. Hundreds of millions of people across rural Africa depend on hand pumps for their water supplies. But it is estimated that around one third are broken at any given moment. Often located in remote areas, repairs can sometimes take up to a month. We think we can get to the point of predicting failure before it happens Rob HopeUniversity of Oxford But one of the big changes in Africa in recent years has been the expansion of mobile phone networks. It is now estimated that more people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to these networks than have access to improved water supplies. Speed is the key So researchers at Oxford University have developed the idea of using the availability of mobile networks to signal when hand pumps are no longer working. They have built and tested the idea of implanting a mobile data transmitter into the handle of the pump. Patrick Thomson is a member of the research team and explained how it works. "It measures the movement of the handle and that is used to estimate the water flow of that hand-pump," he told the BBC. "It can periodically send information by text message back to a central office which can look at that data and when a pump breaks, very quickly a mechanic can be despatched to go and fix it." In just over a month, some 70 villages in Kyuso district in Kenya will have the smart hand pumps installed. The trial, which is funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DfID), will see if the new system can cut the time taken to repair pumps. Rob Hope is another member of the Oxford team. "Twenty-four hours is the key aim. Eighty percent of breakdowns are small, involving rubber rings and seals and a mechanic would be able to fix them on the spot," he explained. In the course of the Kenyan experiment the researchers hope to get enough data so that small changes in the way the pumps are handled could be used to anticipate a problem before it occurs. "We think we can get to the point of predicting failure before it happens." said Rob Hope. "That's exactly the type of thing we hope the trial will deliver." Power in their hands

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A number of big challenges remain to be ironed out, including the critical issue of power. The Kenya experiment will use long lasting batteries but the research team hopes to develop more sustainable ways of powering the transmitters. Another larger trial due to take place in Zambia later this year will look at renewable resources such as kinetic energy from the motion of the handle and solar power. Another challenge is the threat of theft and vandalism. The researchers acknowledge there is little they can do once the devices are installed but Rob Hope feels the support of the local community will prove an adequate deterrent. "My sense is that if the hand-pump is of value to community they will maintain it. If we deliver maintenance in 24 hours, they will self-police," he said. Speedy repairs to hand pumps could have dramatic effects on local communities - broken pumps mean more hours spent gathering the precious resource and people often turn to unsafe sources of drinking water. And according to Andrew Mitchell, the UK's Secretary of State for International Development, keeping the pumps working means much more than drinking water. "Water does not just save lives in the short term - it is also a cornerstone for delivering economic growth and helping countries to work their way out of poverty," he said. "This is why UK aid will give an additional 15 million people access to clean water by 2015 and supporting a number of programmes, like this one, to help the world's poorest countries harness the full potential of their water resources." The technology has other potential benefits. It will allow scientists to compile a real time database of how much water is being used across the continent. Greater predictability of breakdowns could also help drive down the cost of repairs. DO AFRICA'S TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURS NEED CHARITY? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19195665 TECHNOLOGY OPENS THE DOORS OF AFRICA'S HEALTH SECTOR http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18969646 THE MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES MAKING AFRICA CHEAPER AND SAFER http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18784019

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - UNHRC

MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 3.A ELIMINATE GENDER DISPARITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, PREFERABLY BY 2005, AND IN ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION NO LATER THAN 2015.

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Gender equality is central both for its political significance and for its appeal for our audience. We should especially locate this issue in the context of the recent uprisings in the Arab Spring - in religious terms - as well as in social terms possibly complemented by personal stories of emancipation. In addition we must make African leaders accountable for the slow progress on the issue which nonetheless has developed globally: the Gender Parity Index (GPI) grew from 91 in 1999 to 97 in 2010 falling between the plus-or-minus margin accepted as a measure of parity. We can also reserve a special issue to Latin America and the Caribbean enrollment rates which were actually higher for girls than for boys, with a GPI of 108. Another interesting subject that we should treat is the fact that women occupy only 25 percent of senior management positions globally: since 2005 only 17 women held executive political positions. In this regard, we should focus on women leaders participating at the meeting to capture their opinions - needless to say we should mostly focus on women representing developing countries. Here is a great sample by Sean Coughlan on education: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ business19661898 and a piece on gender equality in Tunisia http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ world-africa19253289 and in Botswana http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19924723 . DAY OF ACTION FOR MALALA AND GIRLS' RIGHT TO SCHOOL http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20045482

Almost one million people worldwide have signed their name to call on both the Pakistan government and the United Nations to achieve Malala Yousafzai's aim - that every girl has the opportunity to go to school. Two weeks on, the wave of support for the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban, shows no sign of diminishing. Now is the time for action on the second Millennium Development Goal for universal primary education. The events of the last fortnight have shown that the global collective willpower to deliver on this aim is there.

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The words "I am Malala" are not only a defiant challenge to the Taliban but a bold assertion that every single girl and boy should have the chance of an education. A few weeks before her shooting, Malala told friends of her determination to campaign for the 32 million girls around the world who are not at school. Out of school By declaring 10 November - one month after the attempted assassination - "Malala and the 32 million girls day", we can start to make Malala's dream come true. I will call for a global day of action, when I meet President Zardari of Pakistan next month to hand him our petitions and ask him to lead governmental changes in policy to secure girls' education in his and Malala's country. For decades there has been a dangerous assumption that we are making year-on-year progress towards universal education - and yet the most recent figures published by UNESCO in their Global Monitoring Report show that 61 million children don't receive an education. A further 200 million remain illiterate despite attending school. Equality of opportunity remains a hollow dream. Pakistan is a case study of the challenge ahead, showing how much there's still to be done if we are to meet the Millennium Development Goal target. Some five million don't receive an education, three million of whom are girls. This means that Pakistan has 49.5 million illiterate adults, two-thirds of them female. What is just as shocking is that educational spending is not rising - as we might assume - but falling, from an already meagre 2.6% of Gross National Product in 1999 to 2.3%. This represents just 9% of government spending (the equivalent figure for spending on the military is seven times higher). Child labour Pakistan's continuing failure is sadly replicated elsewhere. In some parts of the Indian subcontinent as well as in sub-Saharan Africa, one quarter of all children are out of school, amid worrying evidence that past gains are being reversed as aid for education is cut. Despite the recent creation of initiatives such as "child marriage-free zones" in Bangladesh, every year some 10 million girls globally are forced into loveless marriages - and out of the classroom. Even though there was a successful Indian march against child labour, 15 million children under 14 are not in school today because they are working full time - on cocoa plantations, down mines, or carrying out other hazardous occupations. We have around 40 months to meet our deadline for universal education. We have one chance left to deliver in these three years. If the tragic story of Malala tells us anything, it is that we must do all we can to achieve it. Action is beginning to coalesce. Last month a new initiative, Education First, launched by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has brought together every UN and World Bank agency concerned with education, to offer poor performing governments, including Pakistan, a chance to deliver new school-places and train more teachers. Every one of the countries with out-of-school children will be asked to draw up a plan setting out its precise needs in terms of teachers, school building and financing. At the core of each plan will be strategies for policing an end to child labour, enforcing the law against child marriage and clamping down on discrimination against girls. Last chance

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In April next year a joint summit between international agencies and governments will be held by Ban Ki-moon and the President of the World Bank Jim Kim at which precise plans will be finalised along with timetables and budgets. PAYING FOR SEX: WOMEN'S GROUPS CALL FOR EU-WIDE BAN http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20591726 ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES 'WOEFUL' ON WOMEN ISSUES SAYS GROUP http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-13252892 GENDER INEQUALITY HURTING ASIAN ECONOMIES, REPORT SAYS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13234884 LESOTHO'S GENDER EQUALITY BETTER THAN THE UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12673242 AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 9 - IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FURTHER? LGBT RIGHTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LINK TO HIV/AIDS HILLARY CLINTON DECLARES 'GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16062937

The US has publicly declared it will fight discrimination against gays and lesbians abroad by using foreign aid and diplomacy to encourage reform. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience of diplomats in Geneva: "Gay rights are human rights". A memo from the Obama administration directs US government agencies to consider gay rights when making aid and asylum decisions. Similar policies already exist for gender equality and ethnic violence. "It should never be a crime to be gay," Mrs Clinton said at the United Nations in Geneva, adding that a country's cultural or religious traditions was no excuse for discrimination. Her audience included representatives from countries where homosexuality is a criminal offence. Many ambassadors rushed out of the room as soon as Mrs Clinton finished speaking, the Associated Press news agency reported.

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In October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron's suggestion that aid could be cut to countries that did not recognise gay rights was condemned by several African countries where homosexual acts are banned, including Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Last week Nigeria became the latest African country attempting to tighten homosexuality laws, with the Senate passing a bill banning same-sex marriages. Before it becomes law, it must be passed by the lower chamber and then signed by the president. 'Human reality' The announcement, described by the White House as the "first US government strategy to combat human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad", is also being seen as part of the Obama administration's outreach to gays and lesbians ahead of the 2012 election. The official memorandum does not outline consequences for countries with poor records on gay rights. But it allows US agencies working abroad to consult with international organisations on discrimination. "Gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world," Mrs Clinton said in Geneva. "Being gay is not a Western invention. It is a human reality." Correspondents say the new policy could pose awkward questions for US officials formulating policy towards some regular allies and regional powers. In 2011, the state department's annual human rights report cited abuses against gay people in Saudi Arabia, an ally of the US that bans homosexuality outright. Afghanistan also prohibits homosexual activity, and the same report found that authorities "sporadically" enforced the prohibition. In the US, Republican presidential candidates criticised the administration's decision, with Texas Governor Rick Perry saying in a statement that "promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America's interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers' money". Mrs Clinton acknowledged the US had its own mixed record on gay rights. As late as 2003, some states had laws that made gay sex a crime. Earlier this year President Barack Obama signed into law a bill repealing the "don't ask don't tell" law and allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the US military. SOUTH AFRICA CALL TO SOLVE GAY 'SERIAL KILLINGS' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15204429 CAMEROON 'GAY SEX' MEN ACQUITTED http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20939129 GAY MARRIAGE COULD BE OUTLAWED IN NIGERIA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20894633 URUGUAY GAY MARRIAGE VOTE POSTPONED UNTIL APRIL http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20849647 UGANDA PRIME MINISTER HACKED 'OVER GAY RIGHTS' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19281664 UGANDA FEAR OVER GAY DEATH-PENALTY PLANS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8412962.stm

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UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME-UNEP

MDG 7 - ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 7.A - INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.

The debate on climate change and environmental concerns is of immediate concern for all nations on the globe. Repercussions are serious and just like in all other cases mentioned, we need to inform our audience both on the developments around the world as well as on what every single one of us can do to help the environment. As the report says, the net forest loss worldwide decreased over the last 20 years, from -8.3 million hectares per year in the 1990s to -5.2 million hectares per year in the last decade. Nonetheless, some regions of the world, namely South America and Africa, have experienced the largest forest land losses between 2000 and 2010, while Asias net gain of more than 2 million hectares every year for the last ten years can be attributable to large-scale reforestation programs. Our role is therefore to bring the respective representatives together to confront their views and inform our viewers on what regional efforts - or individual ones - can achieve. One of the angles that we can adopt can be the relationship between deforestation and a countrys economy: although hard to quantify, these lands host livelihoods (timber, food, fodder, wild meat, medicinal plants, and other materials) for a large portion of the developing worlds population and may serve as economic safety nets in periods of crisis. Overall, forest management and conservation provide employment for over 10 million people Another theme we cannot refrain from is surely the issue of carbon emission. Although carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decreased globally by 0.4 per cent (down from about 30.2 billion metric tons in 2008 to some 30.1 billion metric tons in 2009), per capita emissions remained far higher in the developed regions, at 10 metric tons of CO2 per person in 2009 against only 3 metric tons in the developing world and just 0.6 metric tons in sub-Saharan Africa. In this respect, we must question the representatives of countries from the developed regions on what future plans they have to further reduce their carbon emissions. One way to approach this could be to compare the amount of CO2 released with global economic trends in order to forecast that once the economy recovers, carbon emissions are likely to increase. One final aspect that our programme needs to tackle is the issue of access to drinking water. Although the number of people with access to such resources reached 6.1 billion in 2010 (up by over 2 billion since 1990), eleven per cent of the global population783 million peoplestill remains without access to an improved source of drinking water and, at the current pace, 605 million people will still lack coverage in 2015. Our role in this sense is to raise awareness and potentially report some personal stories in order to inform our viewers back home. Here are some articles on deforestation, fishing and the environment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ news/magazine-16295830; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19758440 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18354564 . INDIA ANNOUNCES ENVIRONMENT REGULATOR

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14271439

India will set up an environment regulator to bring in a "complete change" in the process of granting clearances for industries. PM Manmohan Singh said the regulator would also ensure the compliance of "green norms" by industry. India's environment ministry has been often embroiled in controversy over how to balance development with the preservation of the environment. This has led to the delay of a number of projects across the country. Announcing the setting up of the independent National Environment Appraisal and Monitoring Authority, Mr Singh said it will "lead to a complete change in the process of granting environmental clearances". Correspondents say Mr Singh's move follows the stalling of several industrial and mining projects after the environment ministry refused to clear them. Mr Singh said that economic growth should accommodate environmental concerns. "There is now a general agreement that environment cannot be protected by perpetuating the poverty of developing countries... "But it is no longer acceptable to take it as given that a certain degree of environmental degradation and over-exploitation of natural resources in the cause of promoting growth is inevitable," Mr Singh told a seminar in Delhi on Sunday. There have been a number of controversies over environmental clearances of some big projects in India in recent months. In May the environment ministry cleared the South Korean company Posco's plan to build a steel plant in the eastern state of Orissa after a government panel earlier said the plant's environmental clearances should be scrapped. The $12bn plant is India's single biggest foreign investment and has faced stiff opposition from the local people, campaigning to save farmland and forests. And in January the ministry declared a privately built hill resort town in Maharashtra state illegal. On the other hand, some recent decisions of the ministry have been criticised by environmentalists - they include the go-ahead to a new Mumbai (Bombay) airport and a nuclear power station in Maharashtra. 'HUGE' WATER RESOURCE EXISTS UNDER AFRICA http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17775211 RIO REVISITED: GLASS HALF-FULL?

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18967011 RIO SUMMIT DRAWS TO A CLOSE http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18562324 CLIMATE CHANGE: EU REBRANDS GREEN ENERGY CAMPAIGN http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19868580 AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 7.C - HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION. THE MIXED BLESSING OF RUNNING WATER IN A GHANAIAN VILLAGE http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20601559

When clean running water was brought to a rural community in Ghana six years ago it was hailed as progress. But while the standpipe is convenient, it has caused unforeseen problems. A rutted dirt road runs through the small settlement of Adjako, about an hour's drive northwest of Accra. About 800 people live here, in basic homes made of breezeblock, wood and corrugated iron. The action in Adjako centres around a standpipe in the middle of the village. And it starts early. By 05:30 the cockerels are crowing, the radios are on and the queue at the standpipe is growing. At 06:00 water from the tap starts to flow. Women and children gather in a noisy group. The conversations are loud and there's lots of laughter. But, as the clock ticks towards 09:00, the bickering begins in earnest. Because at 09:00, the water stops. The women - and it is overwhelmingly women and children - argue over whose turn it is next to take water. They shout at each other, overlapping in at least three different languages - Ga from the coast, Twi from the Ashanti region and pidgin English bequeathed by Christian missionaries and British colonialists. "Why haven't you filled my barrel?" "All these people were here before you!" What do you mean all these people were before me?" "I was here before you came!"

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Emma, one of the oldest women in Adjako, sits across the road, selling a kind of porridge and a vicious-looking hot sauce with a fish-head floating in the oil. From time to time she wanders over to the standpipe. She says she is trying to make peace between the bickering women although, frankly, Emma seems to start more arguments than she finishes. "At this standpipe most of the conversations are heated arguments because the water flow is inconsistent and everyone wants to have the water," she says. Adjako, and the nine neighbouring communities that share the clean water supply, have become more argumentative in recent years. The water is a blessing but it has also become a cause of much dispute. The system was built with the help of Danida, the Danish International Development Agency, to bring safe drinking water to these poor, farming communities. But in nearby Accra, where water supplies are erratic, many wealthy people saw an opportunity. Land was cheap around Adjako and, suddenly, water was plentiful. So they began to buy. There is a pond nearby where the village used to get its water. You can drive to it in about five or six minutes or walk there in about 20. It will take you longer on the way back if you're carrying a heavy bucket filled with water or dragging a hand-cart along the dirt road. That's what Alfred Budu used to do when he was a child. "Back then the women found it very difficult to come here," he says. "So I used to bring a push truck, fetch [water] in a drum. I'd serve my family first. And then anyone who could not come themselves, I'd sell to them." The pond itself is overgrown these days. But the land around it has been cleared. "Back then it was quite a forest," says Budu. "We had snakes, reptiles, scorpions all along here. Cheetahs used to be here." We stand together by the stagnant pond and speak about the "bad old days". "We used to have bilharzia and guinea worm rampant here - we also had cholera," he says. "We never thought of having water, we never expected it." There are not so many cheetahs around Adjako anymore, although Budu says you still have to watch out for them, and much of the forest has been cut back. This place has changed since the water came and new homeowners were allowed to run pipes from the mains, directly into their houses, for a fee. You can see half-built structures dotting the lush, green landscape. I watched two men building a wall a little further up the hill, but overnight someone knocked it down. The price of land has risen more than 100-fold in the last 10 years and the number of disputes over ownership is rising. Tempted by rising prices, the original owners have sold out to politicians, doctors, lawyers and other professionals from the capital Accra. And as the land is sold for housing development, people like Alfred Budu - who used to work on rented farmland - find their livelihoods are gone. There is an irony here. It was actually Budu himself who approached Danida to ask if his neighbourhood could have a standpipe. Now the taps in the new houses run 24/7 but the growing demand means that, at the village standpipe, the water only flows for three hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. So the arguments continue. I have been describing this place as a village. But that can get you into trouble in Adjako. The people here insist on calling it a community. For them, the word village implies a place that is unsophisticated and underdeveloped.

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After all, in Adjako, they have a communal standpipe. And that's progress. But there is a paradox in that progress. The water has not brought wealth to the area. It has brought the wealthy. UN MEETS MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL ON DRINKING WATER http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17277520 RIVER BASINS 'VITAL FOR GROWTH' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18394518 POOR SANITATION STIFLES ECONOMIC GROWTH http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15552967 HOW CITIES CAN BECOME HEALTHY PLACES
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18248075

WORLD BANK-WB
MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 8.A - DEVELOP FURTHER AN OPEN, RULE-BASED, PREDICTABLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY TRADING AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM The impact of aid is an extremely important topic in the UK, especially when considering the relationship between the UK and the developing world - with a specific focus on former colonies as India. The information, quotes and promises our reporters must collect need to highlight the level of aid devoted to easing global poverty. Despite an increase in overseas development assistance (ODA) took place between 2000 and 2010, it started to decline in 2011when ODA amounted to $135 million, a 2.7 percent drop from 2010. In addition to ODA, we must hold the representatives of the developed world to account for the decline in bilateral aid for development programs which fell by 4.5 percent in real terms. Nonetheless, we must not omit that in terms of volume the UK was one of the largest donors. Here is an article on the UKs drop in aid to India and other UKAID-related news pieces: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20265583 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukpolitics- 18568533 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics19709321 DAVID CAMERON DEFENDS UK'S FOREIGN AID PROGRAMME http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14196078

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David Cameron has defended the UK's commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on foreign aid by 2013. But Britain will "use aid differently" to ensure it is well spent, the prime minister told an audience in Nigeria. He was speaking as a survey of public opinion in the UK suggested many people felt the country's foreign policy had changed for the worse in the last year. The top priorities ought to be protecting borders and countering terrorism, its results suggested. Mr Cameron has cut short a planned four-day trip to Africa so he can prepare for his statement to Parliament on Wednesday on the phone-hacking scandal. But before leaving he used a speech to the Pan-African University in Lagos to reinforce Britain's aid commitment and spell out the potential for UK countries trading in Africa. UK aid spending should be targeted at projects to deliver infrastructure like customs services, roads and the internet and to train business leaders, mathematicians and scientists, he said. Trade opportunity This could kick-start growth and development and help Africa move off aid altogether, the prime minister added. "We see Africa in a new way, a different way. Yes, a place to invest our aid. But above all a place to trade," he said. Britain must increase its 4% share in exports to Africa, he said, promising to use loan guarantees and trade finance to help UK companies win contracts. Earlier, he had visited a clinic in the capital Lagos, where babies were being vaccinated against yellow fever. The Department for International Development operates a scheme in Nigeria to monitor vaccination rates, train nurses and reach out to women who might otherwise miss out on health care for their children. Policy 'worse' Meanwhile, the survey conducted by think tank Chatham House and polling company YouGov, also found that many people believed Britain spent too little equipping its armed forces and too much on contributions to the EU and on overseas aid to developing countries. The poll questioned two groups, members of the general public and "opinion formers" drawn from a YouGov panel of figures from the business, media, politics, academia, science and arts spheres. Of the members of the public surveyed, 65% thought Britain's foreign policy had changed for the worse over the past year. Nearly 60% thought much overseas aid was wasted and did not promote Britain's interests. And only 20% thought the UK had a moral right to support pro-democracy uprisings in places such as Egypt and Libya.

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Nearly half of those questioned thought the UK should not be involved at all. A Foreign Office spokesperson said the government rejected any notion that Britain's role in the world was shrinking. He said the repositioning of UK foreign policy was to secure its prosperity and security in the long term. WORLD BANK WARNS DEVELOPING WORLD TO PREPARE FOR SHOCKS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16602033 Brics nations to have 'weak 2013' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20896279 TARGET 2 AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.D DEAL COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE DEBT PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. COULD DEBT RELIEF SOLVE EUROPES PROBLEMS? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18785856

Despite measures and initiatives being proposed by political leaders, history suggests that the path leading Europe back to prosperity will not be smooth. Many Greeks, battered by austerity, would look with envy at some African countries that had their crippling debts cancelled in the latter part of the 1990s to allow them a fresh start. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was the first international response to provide comprehensive debt relief to the world's poorest, most heavily-indebted countries. "The idea was that these countries would present a programme of macro-economic reform, along with good fiscal and trade policies, and only then would they qualify for debt relief," says Shantayanan Devarajan, chief economist of the World Bank's Africa Region. In Africa there was a very clear decision to go with the growth strategy rather than the austerity strategy. "Instead of having half the population rising up against the austerity measures, which we are seeing in some European countries, we actually saw increasing public support for the policies to promote growth and reduce poverty," he says. European Model Apart from debt relief in African countries, there has been a precedent in Europe. In the effort to promote recovery after World War II, part of the Marshall Plan - America's huge aid programme - was a strategy for dealing with the vast debts that the vanquished nations of Europe had run up - most notably, those of Germany.

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Albrecht Ritschl, Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics, explains how Germany received debt relief: "Every recipient country of the Marshall Plan had to sign a waiver which said that all Marshall aid would amount to what was known as a first charge to Germany - it meant that unless this debt was repaid by the Germans, no other charges could be brought against Germany." It meant that from 1947, all German debt was in effect blocked. "If you were a merchant in the Netherlands and you had claims against the Germans because they cleared out your factory premises during the early 1940s, you couldn't go to court to seize any German export deliveries which came into the Netherlands," he says. Greek perspective This debt relief that Germany enjoyed was reflected in its national budget. In the 1950s the ratio of national debt to national income was less than 20%, at a time when the UK had debt-income ratios closer to 175%. What Germany did next was to conclude treaties with individual countries and people. "The only country to protest loudly in the 1950s and 1960s and again in the 1990s, was Greece," Dr Ritschl notes. "That is why when you talk to someone in Greece, not too many of them have a guilty conscience about defaulting on their debt to the Germans," he says. "You still owe us some and now we owe you some, so now we are quits." Germany prospered after debt forgiveness and some people think the time has now come to make amends for that, by picking up the tab for Europe. "A large part of academia and the media are saying we won't get out of this crisis unless we have a heavy write-off," he says. "That would mean Germany, France and the UK taking serious action to restructure their banking systems because of their exposure to southern Europe," he concludes. Who qualifies? Countries like Spain, Ireland and Greece would undoubtedly like to have a fresh start, but the World Bank's Shantayanan Devarajan says they would have to ensure there was not another debt crisis 10 years down the road. "The fact they are suffering a debt crisis means there is a problem," he says. "Countries have to improve competitiveness, export more, and collect more tax revenues," he says. He also maintains that debt relief should not be applicable to everybody. "There have to be some criteria to see who should get it. Some countries are not in a position to benefit from debt relief, so a collective decision has to be taken among all the stakeholders," he says. As far as Africa is concerned, debt relief has had more of a positive effect in some countries than others. "A country like Ghana, which received debt relief in the early 2000s, has enjoyed rapid economic growth and more importantly, rapid poverty reduction," he says. "Debt relief created that space where Ghanaian policymakers could use their resources for education, health and infrastructure, rather than paying their creditors," he asserts. But there are other countries that received debt relief where both the growth and the poverty reduction experience has been more tempered.

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"One example would be Senegal, where economic growth has not matched that of Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia or Rwanda and as a result, the poverty reduction has been somewhat anaemic," he says. Some of that debt relief was provided by taxpayers in the rich world, but the most important part was the fact that the debt relief was accompanied by a reform programme. "These programmes have not been dictated from outside, but came out of a political consensus within the country," Mr Devarajan says. LIBERIA HAILS $1.2BN DEBT PARDON BY PARIS CLUB http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11341667 DR CONGO TO GET BILLIONS IN DEBT RELIEF FROM IMF http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10484495 CHINA'S LOANS RAISES AFRICAN DEBT FEARS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5360890.stm

RUSSIA TODAY

INTRODUCTION RT: DEVELOPMENT AND MISSION NETWORK AWARDS ROMEMUN AGENDA TOPICS: RT ON MDGs, ARTICLES AND SUGGESTED READING

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INTRODUCTION
RT, formerly known as Russia Today, is a television news network run by the Russian International News Agency (RIA Novosti), a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1941 as Soviet Information Bureau and based in Moscow.

RT: DEVELOPMENT AND MISSION

With first channel launched in December 2005, RT now covers via satellite Europe, Asia, the whole America, southern Africa and Australia. Its aim is to talk about Russia worldwide, and to communicate Russias point of view on international issues at the global level, thus representing an important alternative voice in the media. RT is active on social networks, posting breaking news regularly: its Facebook page has more than 800 thousand fans, while RTs Twitter profile has more than 400 thousand followers. RTs YouTube platform has more than 300 thousand subscribers, and has exceeded 800 million video views. In April 2012, RT launched The World Tomorrow, a news interview program hosted by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. RTs mission is to offer an alternative, supposedly non-mainstream, description of current events and global trends. A state-owned international broadcast channel, RT gives voice to the Russian point of view on international politics, economics and social issues. Reviving the tradition of the Soviet Unions relic Radio Moscow, now Voice of Russia, RT is perhaps the most clear attempt by Putins Russia to keep alive a kind of Cultural Cold War with its western and non-western counterparts the U.S. as well as British, Arabic and Chinese media.

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In a nutshell, RT is an instrument of Russias soft power the ability to persuade by means of cultural influence, short of military confrontation, with the aim of winning global consensus on the Russian governments international agenda.

NETWORK
The RT network consists of three global news channels broadcasting in English, Spanish and Arabic, plus RT America broadcasting from RTs Washington studio and the documentary channel RTDoc. RT has 25 bureaus in 18 states, with a presence in Washington, New York, London, Paris, Delhi, Cairo, Baghdad, Kiev and other cities. The network employs over 2,000 media professionals, and has a global reach of over 550 million people, or 25% of all cable subscribers worldwide. RT International in English, since 2005: Based in Moscow, the flagship news channel of the RT network covers international and regional headlines from a Russian perspective. Online live streaming available. Rusiya Al-Yaum in Arabic, since 2007: Based in Moscow, it broadcasts 24/7 programs on political, economic, cultural and sport topics with movies, documentaries and feature shows. According to Nielsen research (The Nielsen Company Research in 7 Arab countries, 2010) over 5 million people watch RT in 7 Arab countries, more than leading European channels Deutsche Welle Arabic, France 24 Arabic and Chinese CCTV Arabic all together. Online live streaming available. RT en Espaol in Spanish, since 2009: It is based in Moscow but relies heavily on its studios in Miami, Los Angeles and Buenos Aires. It covers headline news, politics, sports, and broadcast specials. RT America, since 2010: It covers the Americas from a foreign, mostly Russian perspective. RT America goes on air during Americas prime time, and offers a perspective on Americas events and stories that differs from that of mainstream media. Based in RT's Washington, DC Bureau, RT America also has studios in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. Online live streaming available. RTDoc in English, since 2011: 24-hour documentary channel. The bulk of its programming is RT-produced documentaries about Russia. Online live streaming available.

AWARDS
AUGUST 2012 - Second nomination for an International Emmy Award for its coverage of the international Occupy Wall Street movement. NOVEMBER 2011 - Martyn Andrews and the weekly "Moscow Out" arts and entertainment show awarded the "ShereMedia Award" for Best Lifestyle Program. AUGUST 2010 - RT has been nominated in the prestigious Emmy International Television Awards. It makes RT the first Russian TV channel to be nominated for an Emmy in the News & Current Affairs category. JANUARY 2010 - RTs Question More campaign won the British Awards for National Newspaper Advertising (ANNAs) Ad of the Month in January 2010.

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JUNE 2010 - RT has won three gold awards at the industrys standard-setting competition in television design and marketing, the Promax/BDA World Gold Awards 2010. Two gold awards went to the posters of RTs Question More promotion campaign. RT Prime Time Russias promo video won yet another gold in the Image Promotion category. JANUARY 2009 - Silver World Medal for Best News Documentary A city of desolate mothers from the New York Festivals NOVEMBER 2008 - Special Jury Award in the Best Creative Feature category for Russian Glamour feature story at Media Excellence Awards in London. SEPTEMBER 2008 - British television presenter at RT, Kevin Owen, has been awarded Russias most prestigious TV award for Best News Anchor. NOVEMBER 2007 - RT's report on the anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe received a special prize from the international 2007 AIB Media Excellence Awards. SEPTEMBER 2007 - Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio awarded RT with the Prize for Professional Skillfulness. JUNE 2007 - The 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival awarded its Grand Prix to RT's Meeting with Nature series. SEPTEMBER 2006 - The 10th "Golden Tambourine" International Festival for Television programs and films awarded RT's documentary People of the Bering Strait in the Ethnography and Travel category.

ROMEMUN AGENDA TOPICS: RT ON MDGS, ARTICLES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

RT has not adopted a specified line on the MDGs as such. However, even though often no reference to the UNs MDGs as such is made, RT has often covered the targets of the MDGs agenda. In general, the network gives prominence to the Russian governments stance on political issues. Therefore, the views expressed in the article might be read in light of the governments position on issues related to the MDGs. UNILATERAL SANCTIONS CONTRARY TO MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS - LAVROV 22 SEPTEMBER, 201036 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has cautioned the UN General Assembly against the heavyhanded use of sanctions. He said economic penalties must not harm those the UNs Millennium Goals program is designed to protect. Meanwhile, the Middle-East Quartet has met behind closed doors to follow up on last weeks direct peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

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Holding talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Middle-East Quartet, which consists of Russia, the US, the EU and the UN, has urged Israel to extend its freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and Gaza. The deadline for the moratorium is considered to be September 26, even though Israeli military orders actually name the day to be October 4. The issue is key, as Palestinians have said that Israel can forget about continuing direct talks if they do not extend this freeze after the deadline expires. And Israel has already said it is refusing to extend the moratorium. Meanwhile, the UNs Millennium Development Goals summit has also been taking place at the UN headquarters in New York, where leaders and top officials from almost 200 countries gathered to discuss the goals they have been able to meet during the last ten years. Back in 2000, world leaders agreed on a set of eight target goals which they hoped to meet by the year 2015, which means in five years the leaders will be again meeting to discuss which of these target goals they were able to reach. And these include ending poverty and hunger in the world by trying to cut in half the number of people who live on an income of less than one dollar a day. And so far, results have been mixed, especially considering the difficult economic situations that many countries are now faced with. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a speech at the summit in which he outlined how Russia had donated as much as US$800 million to developing nations in the last year alone. An interesting and important point that he spoke of was his calling upon countries not to ask other nations to impose unilateral economic sanctions against other nations. We're concerned about the unilateral measures of restraint, forcibly introduced by some states against developing countries, exceeding whats in the UN Security Council Charter, Lavrov said. We're sure this practice contradicts the efforts of the Millennium Development Goals and has to be stopped. Sometimes to resolve the issues, set in the UN Charter, the world community has to resort to such measures, like economic sanctions, the Russian Foreign Minister added. Meanwhile, a number of protests have taken place in New York. The largest is expected to be on Thursday when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the UN General Assembly. Many more speeches and events are taking place throughout the week among them, a meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany, to discuss Iran.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY - PLENARY MEETING

MDG 1 - ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 1.A + 1.B - POVERTY ISSUE (REF. 2.A - SCHOOLING) HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN 1$ PER DAY FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 1.C HUNGER HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HUNGER

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THE RIGHT TO EAT: EARTH FACES STARVATION37 More people less food. This is what the world is heading into: millions are already dying from hunger, and this figure is set to increase tenfold if food and agriculture policies of mankind stay the same. With over 923 million hungry people in the world, the food and agricultural crisis currently underway in many parts of the world will only become bigger and ever more encompassing. This is the warning from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that has urgently called on the international community to help curb the world's next big crisis: food scarcity. Drastic food and gas price increases, coupled with agricultural shortfalls due to climate disasters, and the more recent global financial crisis, are factors that have triggered an unprecedented food emergency in 36 countries in Africa, Asia and South America. These new challenges threaten sustainable food security worldwide. The urgency to tackle such issues and put an end to hunger in the world spurred member countries of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization to hold a special conference from November 18 to 22 in Rome, Italy.* What have we got on the plate? In an inaugural speech on the first day of the conference, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf stated that the food crisis in 2007 that was caused by higher commodity prices further deteriorated the world food situation, creating 75 million more hungry people across the globe. In light of unprecedented global population growth, Diouf said the world needed to double food production by 2050 in order to feed an estimated population of nine billion people, compared to today's 6.6 billion. Recent surges in food, fertilizer and gas prices have put added pressure on agricultural output, making it difficult for the world's farmers to increase, or even maintain, current food supply levels. According to Diouf, the more recent financial and economic crisis has eclipsed the mounting food crisis as national governments have been concentrating on tackling tumbling stock markets and ailing banks, rather than focusing on curbing escalating hunger levels.

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The food crisis requires the same level of attention. It has economic, social and ethical ramifications, but is also clearly a threat to world peace and security, Diouf stated. FAO's goal of eradicating hunger from the world requires urgent action not only for ethical reasons, but for socio-political ones too. Because when people are hungry, they get more aggressive. The consequences of the food crisis are dramatic, especially for poor households and even for small producers not able to feed themselves from their home production. At the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, food riots caused social and political unrest in 20 countries on all continents, he maintained. Rich and hungry Myriad food riots and protests have flared up in both rich and poor countries. Over the past year, the spike in prices and fear of food shortages has sparked violent protests in developing countries, often threatening economic and political stability: tortilla riots broke out in Mexico, disputes over food rations occurred in West Bengal and the poor marched against grain prices in Senegal, Mauritania and other parts of Africa and Asia. In the Middle East, hundreds of Yemeni children hit the streets to proclaim their hunger, and in Haiti many people lost their lives during food riots in early 2008. Today, however, famine has a new face. Food scarcity has historically been liked to the world's poorest and most underdeveloped countries. Still, recent food-related protests in rich, developed countries are proof that this pattern is changing. Food is on the shelves in rich countries but people are increasingly priced out of the market. Hunger and poverty are spreading across Europe and America, creating a new class of poor people in industrialized countries and urban centers. 'We must therefore avoid losing time. Actions need to be initiated as soon as this conference is over. No one must doubt the scale of the task ahead', Diouf urged. Salvation recipe To better tackle hunger and poverty reduction, food crises, climate change, bioenergy demands and the impact of the ongoing financial crisis on agriculture, reforms to the structure of the FAO have become absolutely necessary, Diouf said. Members at the four-day Conference, FAO member states agreed to a $42.6 million, three-year Immediate Plan of Action to enable the 63-year-old UN specialized agency to reform with growth, said a press release at the close of the Conference. Achieving those goals was a political and funding problem rather than a technical one, he noted, arguing that a new world agricultural order is needed to fix the world's ineffective food governance system. He proposed that a World Food Summit be held in the first half of 2009 to lay the ground for a new system of governance of world food security and agricultural trade that offers farmers, in developed and developing countries alike, the means of earning a decent living. To successfully carry these objectives out, the Summit should also come up with $30 billion per year to build rural infrastructure and increase agricultural productivity in the developing world. Concluding his speech, Diouf underlined that a world in which 1,340 billion US dollars are spent each year on armaments; and more than 3 000 billion US dollars could be found in just a few weeks in an attempt to stifle the world financial crisis, could surely amass the funds needed to eradicate world hunger and ensure the most fundamental human right: the right to food. * The world's top agricultural advisors and delegates from the FAO's 191 member nations converged on the city of Rome at the 35th special session of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization conference to brainstorm ways to harness such a fast-moving food crisis before it spins out of control.

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Discussions focused on identifying, developing and implementing the necessary policies at national, regional and international levels to ensure food security in the world. These policies are aimed at yielding sustainable solutions over the medium and long-term. Participants also approved exhaustive reforms to the structure and functioning of the FAO. WORLD FOOD CRISIS http://rt.com/programs/spotlight/world-food-crisis/ OFFICIAL STATISTICS CLAIMS LOWER POVERTY IN RUSSIA
http://rt.com/business/news/russia-poverty-level-2012-865/

1.3 MILLION RUSSIANS ON MINIMUM WAGE, FAR BELOW POVERTY LINE

http://rt.com/business/news/russia-minimum-wage-poverty-711/

WORLD LEADERS GATHERED FOR UN'S MILLENNIUM GOALS DEVELOPMENT http://rt.com/news/un-millenium-general-assembly/ GLOBAL ANTI-POVERTY SUMMIT ENTERS DAY THREE IN NEW YORK http://rt.com/news/global-anti-poverty-summit/ HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS RISE IN THE US http://rt.com/usa/news/us-food-percent-emergency-612/ NUMBER OF HOMELESS STUDENTS HITS NEW RECORD: OVER 1 MILLION http://rt.com/usa/news/homeless-number-children-percent-253/ LAND SOLD OFF AND USED FOR BIOFUELS COULD HAVE FED 1 BILLION PEOPLE REPORT http://rt.com/news/world-bank-developing-world-689/ LOS ANGELES: CAPITAL OF GLITZ AND HOMELESSNESS http://rt.com/usa/news/glitz-los-angeles-homeless-507/

UN SECURITY COUNCIL
AGENDA TOPIC 1: CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICTS AGENDA TOPIC 2: RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLE

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CHILD SOLDIERS FORCED TO FIGHT AS MERCENARIES IN IVORY COAST38 Militias loyal to the former president of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo are recruiting child soldiers in Liberia to launch cross-border raids on the Ivory Coast. Children as young as 14 are being trained, armed and used as scouts according to a recent report by the campaigning group Human Rights Watch. Matt Wells, the West Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch who carried out much of the research for the report, told RT recruiting children is a recent phenomenon in the last couple of months and is so they can mount larger attacks. He suggested that without child soldiers the militias would not have sufficient numbers for their armed raids to be successful. A 17-year-old Liberian who was recruited to fight with the armed militants told Human Rights Watch that he had taken part in at least one cross-border raid, They call us 'small boys unit' and we are always safe when we go to the war zones in Ivory Coast. I don't know the total that we have killed. Human Rights Watch identified between 100-150 militants who have participated or plan to participate in cross-border raids, although the true figure is thought to be much higher than that. Wells added that after the uprising in the Ivory Coast scores if not hundreds of armed supporters of the ousted Gbagbo regime went over to Liberia. The Liberian authorities have been slow to stop the activities of the militia groups and the recruitment of child soldiers. There are some guys in our community who have been recruiting small boys. We have been complaining to the security forces, but they are always saying they dont have the evidence to prove it, a 32-year-old trader in the border region told Human Rights Watch. Although the border between Liberia and Ivory Coast is very difficult to monitor and is deep in the bush, Wells said that until the last few days the response from the Liberian authorities has been totally inadequate. But a raid last Friday which killed 15 people including seven UN peace-keepers has forced the governments of both countries to take action. Liberia has now closed its 450-mile border with the former French colony.

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The government of Ivory Coast has threatened to deploy soldiers to Liberia to root out the militias if the problem is not swiftly resolved. The Ivory Coast is still deeply divided and Alassane Ouattara, president since 2010, has struggled to unify a post-conflict army composed of former rebels and government soldiers. Gbagbo was arrested in May 2010 after a brief civil war and is now awaiting trial by the International Criminal Court. SYRIAN OPPOSITION USES CHILD-SOLDIERS REPORT http://rt.com/news/syria-children-soldiers-un-549/ CHILD SOLDIERS INTERNATIONAL http://www.child-soldiers.org/ WORLD MAP OF CHILD SOLDIERS http://www.un.org/works/goingon/soldiers/childsoldiersmap.html http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18041&flag=report UN CALLS FOR 'SWIFT DEPLOYMENT' OF FOREIGN TROOPS IN MALI, FRANCE VOWS TO INTERVENE http://rt.com/news/france-mali-intervene-hollande-787/ UNIVERSAL RECOGNITION OF INALIENABLE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION MOST EFFECTIVE http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/gashc4051.doc.htm

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 6 - COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES TARGET 6.A + 6.B HAVE HALTED THE INCIDENCE OF HIV BY 2015 UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.E IN COOPERATION WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL DRUGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

PROVIDE

ACCESS

TO

EASTERN EUROPE HAS FASTEST GROWING HIV EPIDEMIC IN THE WORLD UN OFFICIAL 11 OCTOBER, 201139 Eastern Europe is beset by an HIV epidemic, but there is hope the situation can soon change for the better, according to the executive director of the UN's AIDS program, Michel Sidib. In Russia and in much of Eastern Europe, AIDS and HIV infections are a growing problem. In 2010, the number of cases in Russia alone is reported to have increased by thousands. Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the only region where we see the infection increasing, Sidib, who is in Moscow for a forum on AIDS and HIV, told RT. It is the fastest epidemic in the world today. G8 countries have made an effort to address the epidemic, by increasing the funding. What they have not done is the investment of these funds with the maximum of return. Almost 60 percent of the new infections are occurring among drug users. And they are not living in isolation they are interacting with the general population. If we dont have the right policies, it wont stop.

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Sidib warned that a zero-tolerance policy toward drug addicts is not working. There is a lot of experience from other countries showing that punishment alone is not working, Sidib told RT. Youre criminalizing those people, youre making them go underground and help themselves. So even when the help is available, it wont reach them. In Russia, stopping an HIV epidemic among drug users is an achievable goal by 2015, Sidib said. We are sure that Russian government can take the leadership in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, he told RT. RUSSIA MARKS WORLD AIDS DAY AS GRIM HIV STATISTICS IMPROVE 1 DECEMBER, 201040 Although HIV figures in Russia remain far from reassuring, health experts say there is still a reason for optimism. According to state statistics, 600,000 people in Russia are HIV positive. The most infected areas in Russia are Southern Siberia, from Samara to Irkutsk, and the St. Petersburg region. However, while the Federal Anti-AIDS Center admits the number is probably much higher, experts at the Health Ministry say the situation is improving. In the last nine months, nearly 39,000 people registered as HIV positive, Galina Chistyakova, from the Heath Ministrys Sanitary-Epidemiological Department told RT. "Thats almost five per cent less than in the previous three years. And we hope this trend will continue. Denis Broun, regional director of UNAIDS, told RT that the main problem in drawing up such statistics is that many people are simply unaware that they are infected. Many people have been infected only recently. They just dont know that they are ill, Broun said. Still, 20 million people are tested every year so there are certain grounds for optimism. Broun emphasized that as far as AIDS therapy is concerned, the most urgent problem is the cost of anti- AIDS drugs. The drugs are sold under much higher price than in most of the countries in the CIS. It is connected with the Russian system of drug registration that has so far forbidden many manufacturers to enter the market. Competition always leads to lower prices, Broun said. The specialist also said that there are difficulties in finding who should be treated. There are certain requirements for HIV positive patients so that they could get treatment. Every region has its own demands. But sometimes the logistics are very complicated: it is not that easy to transport drugs to regions where they are most urgently needed. It means it is also hard to prevent people who are already in treatment from having interruptions which can lead to complications, Broun told RT. SCORES AT RISK AS NEW BREED OF MOSQUITO FOILS MALARIA PREVENTION METHODS 16 SEPTEMBER, 201241

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Annual deaths could jump by the hundreds of thousands because of a new species of mosquito, which bites people in the early evening rather than at night, making bed nets useless in the battle against malaria. The new strain of mosquito, which was discovered in the highlands of western Kenya by scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, feeds while people are outside in the early evening, according to a Sunday report by the Independent. Malaria is already one of the worlds top killers, with nearly one million people a year dying from the disease. And if not for mosquito nets that number would be much higher, as nets prevent the insects from biting at night, when the female anopheles mosquito sucks blood as part of its egg-production cycle. As many as one million people are thought to have dodged death by sleeping under mosquito nets covered with insecticide over the last 12 years. Even more distressing is that scientists have as yet been unable to match the DNA of the new species to that of any existing variety. Jennifer Stevenson, a scientist in the London School research group, told the Independent, We observed that many mosquitos we caught including those infected with malaria did not physically resemble other known malaria mosquitoes. Stevenson, whose team set up outdoor and indoor traps to catch the species, added, the main difference that came through from this study is that we caught 70 per cent of these species A which is what we named them because we dont know exactly what they are outdoors before 10:30pm, which is the time when people in the village usually go indoors. Jo Lines, a colleague of Stevenson and a former co-coordinator for the World Health Organizations global malaria program, also said, we do not yet know what these unidentified specimens are, or whether they are acting as vectors [transmitters] on a wider scale, but in the study area they are clearly playing a major and previously unsuspected role. Scientists are now calling for wider controls to deal with the outdoor transmission of the disease. Andrew Griffiths, from the childrens charity World Vision, said the findings are a setback in the fight against the disease. Its concerning because bed nets are one of the important tools in combating malaria and weve seen deaths go down dramatically. It would mean that one of the important parts in the response to malaria would be taken away. We have to be talking about protecting yourself at different times of the day and put even more focus on the community and other systems, he said. In a separate development, scientists in the UK and the US are developing genetically-modified mosquitos, which could prove effective in the battle against mosquito borne-diseases like malaria. STATES SLASH FUNDS FOR AIDS, HIV DRUGS http://rt.com/usa/news/states-cut-aids-hiv-funds/ AIDS: EVERYDAY BATTLE FOR LIFE AND CURE http://rt.com/news/aids-hiv-conference-treatment/ HIV/AIDS: NO RIGHT TO BE HAPPY? http://rt.com/news/hiv-aids-discrimination/ CLAIMS WHO IS MASSIVELY UNDERESTIMATING GLOBAL MALARIA DEATH RATES http://rt.com/news/malaria-research-india/

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UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION - UNESCO

AND

CULTURAL

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION TARGET 2.A ENSURE THAT, BY 2015, CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE, WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE A FULL COURSE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING

INDIAN CHILD LABORERS: NO ESCAPE FROM THE VICIOUS CIRCLE42 It has been three years since the Indian government banned the employment of children. However, it is still disturbingly widespread, and UNICEF says millions of them are working in extremely dangerous conditions. India has the largest population of child workers in the world, with an estimated 40 million to 100 million children forgoing education to earn money. The child labor problem in India is of a scale that is often not even acknowledged, because it is so invisible. We can look at factories where children work, but we dont look at agricultural labor. We dont look at domestic labor to the extent that India should be looking at, says Meenakshi Ganguly, Senior Researcher from Human Rights Watch. Theres a sense of almost justifying it by saying that these children would otherwise be starving and therefore its fine to employ them except that the conditions of that employment are dangerous. India has laws in place to protect children and bans the employment of anyone under the age of 14 in several industries, but the law remains ineffective. Often it is sheer poverty that drives children to work.

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I want to study but we have no money, says little Feroz smiling. He sells coconuts in the street and looks no more than seven years old. Thats why I work, and help run our household. Poor families see their children as breadwinners. Instead of sending Arjun to school, his mother Parvati sets him to work. He may earn a mere two dollars a week, but for the family it is a question of survival. We cant get two meals a day. We earn barely enough the whole day to feed ourselves, how can we educate our children? At least they help me. With more hands to work we can earn enough for dinner. If the children didnt work, theyd just waste their time, and Id have no one to help me, says Parvati Devi. Meenakshi Ganguly says using child labor is not only harmful for their health but also traps them in a vicious circle of unemployment and poverty: Health issues are the primary concern. The fact that a lot of these are hazardous industries and therefore childrens health becomes impaired. The other is: a child does grow up. And then hes out of a job because another child comes and takes that job. So youre not creating a workforce, youre essentially limiting that workforce to a capacity to work for only a few years. A non-government organization Bachpan bachao Andolan has rescued over 77,000 child workers from sweatshops in the past three decades. They are rehabilitated at special schools. But this is just the tip of the iceberg homelessness is another problem. Every month 100 more children come here, and we would like them to go back to their homes at the same rate. They do. But there are around 50 children here who have no home address, and no knowledge of their families whereabouts. We try to trace their families. We also educate them further so that, by the age of 18, they can stand on their own feet, explains Parmanand Choudhary from Apnaghar childrens home.Once freed from the shackles of work, child workers have some hope of reliving their childhood. However, charity workers admit that most of the children rescued are likely to find themselves forced back into a life of bondage. INDIAS LOW-CASTE STILL UNTOUCHABLES http://rt.com/news/india-untouchables-dalits-discrimination/ RUSSIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM LEARNING TO ADAPT TO CHANGING TIMES http://rt.com/news/education-system-russia-fursenko/ TO MODERNIZATION THROUGH EDUCATION http://rt.com/news/sci-tech/state-council-education-modernization/ TEENAGE GIRL FIGHTS EARLY MARRIAGE, SETTING PRECEDENT IN RURAL INDIA http://rt.com/news/india-underage-marriage-chidlren/

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AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGET 8.F IN COOPERATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, MAKE AVAILABLE BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

RUSSIA CALLS FOR INTERNET REVOLUTION43 Russia backed by China and India is pushing through a takeover of the internet by a UN supranational agency to make the web truly universal. The aim of the plan is to standardize the behavior of countries concerning information and cyberspace. -Leading emerging economies supported by other United Nations members initiated the discussion around handing over internet regulation to a UN agency. At present it is controlled by private shareholders. BRICS countries China, Brazil, India and Russia share the belief that the Geneva-based UN agency the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) would do a better job if put in charge of international cyber security, data privacy, technical standards and the global web address system. Hands off our web This week the US House of Representatives prepares to vote on the proposal and the expectations are, there will be no great uphill struggle.Washington opposed UN regulation of the internet just weeks after the international code of conduct for information security was submitted to the General Assembly Commander of US Cyber Command Army Gen. Keith Alexander said I'm not for regulating, per se. I'm concerned about it, and this is a tough question. Gen. Alexander stressed that instead of expecting action from the UN, sovereign states should better secure critical infrastructure and government networks without official regulation.

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The American side admits that the current multi-stakeholder system gives maneuver space to nonprofit organizations worldwide instead of governments. Nonprofits are the indispensable element of American soft power over the world and it is highly doubtful they could be sacrificed that easily. The head of the US Commerce Departments National Telecommunications and Information Administration Larry Strickling has been categorical, saying in the regulations supposed by the initiative it is really the governments that are at the table, but the rest of the stakeholders arent. On April 19, US Congress adopted Resolution 628 expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should preserve, enhance, and increase access to an open, global internet. It is the sense of the House of Representatives that if a resolution calling for endorsement of the proposed international code of conduct for information security or a resolution inconsistent with the principles above comes up for a vote in the United Nations General Assembly or other international organization, the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations or the United States representative to such other international organization should oppose such a resolution, the bill announces. But the International Telecommunication Union is far from giving up. The United Nations agency prepares to hold a vast World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in December in Dubai where ITU member states will discuss the proposed revisions to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR) that might expand the ITUs mandate to encompass the internet. The ITR is a legally binding international treaty signed by 178 countries. UN internet takeover initiated by Putin Last June, then-PM Vladimir Putin met ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Tour. The two discussed global access to the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICT). Vladimir Putin announced his support for an internet takeover by the United Nations and backed the International Telecommunication Union. Recalling that the ITU is one of the oldest international organizations (an extension of the International Telegraph Union established in 1865), Putin said that Russia was one of its cofounders and intends to be an active member. Among many issues on the global agenda that require international cooperation, Putin stressed the importance of the internet in particular. That was the beginning. Three months later, in September 2011 China, Russia and several other countries submitted to the UN a Document of International Code of Conduct for Information Security. Drafted as a formal document of the 66th session of the General Assembly, the paper called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to distribute the document among all UN member states for further discussions within the framework of the United Nations. This initiative could guarantee a multilateral, transparent and democratic international management of the internet, the paper said. INTERNET CENSORSHIP USELESS - MEDVEDEV http://rt.com/politics/internet-users-help-reforms-347/

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PUTIN PLUGS INTERNET DEMOCRACY TO PACK POPULAR PUNCH http://rt.com/politics/putin-article-democracy-evolution-549/ THE UN ASKS FOR CONTROL OVER THE WORLDS INTERNET http://rt.com/usa/news/un-internet-itu-packet-385/ STOP THE PRESSES: TURKEY TOPS LIST OF JAILED JOURNALISTS http://rt.com/news/turkey-press-freedom-crackdown-998/

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - UNHRC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN TARGET 3.A ELIMINATE GENDER DISPARITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, PREFERABLY BY 2005, AND IN ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION NO LATER THAN 2015

PUSSY RIOT SPOTLIGHT TAKES FOCUS OFF WESTERN-BACK HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES44 19 August, 2012 As the Pussy Riot sentence has creates a global outcry, with governments slamming it as disproportionate and the public rallying in We are all Pussy Riot demonstrations, Robert Naiman from Just Foreign Policy tells RT who is behind the sensation. -Over 5,100 federal and regional news outlets have reported the Pussy Riot verdict and sentence, media monitor NewsEffector reports. Most of them are US or UK-based, followed by European broadcasters in Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

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Demonstrations in support of the punk group's members, who were sentenced Friday to two years in jail each for their participation in a mock prayer in Russias main cathedral, rolled through Moscow, London, New York, Berlin, Paris, Brussels and many other cities. At times it has looked as if the scandalous trio is better known outside their country than inside. According to Levada Center polls, less than 20 per cent of Russians have been intentionally following the developments around the Pussy Riot case, while most respondents thought the case rotated around a religious axis rather than a political one. In the West, Maria Alyokhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are viewed as prisoners of conscience, persecuted for their political platform. But what is it about the feminist punk trio that grasped the attention of the whole world, and made the international public decry the sentence as too harsh? Because they are young, because they are women, because they are rock musicians these all make the case more appealing to Western public opinion. So it is not surprising, says Robert Naiman, the policy director of the independent US organization Just Foreign Policy. To Naiman, the Pussy Riot sentence, when viewed in isolation, does look too harsh. But, he says, when considering human rights abuses in Western-backed countries like Bahrain, the singular reaction the Pussy Riot case drew raises eyebrows. The case was widely condemned around the globe, with many dubbing the trial as a mockery of justice. Indeed, almost 90 per cent of global news coverage took a negative attitude to Russias court system, President Vladimir Putins stance or the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church since the three girls were convicted on charges related to hooliganism driven by religious hatred. Many sources point out attempts by Amnesty International to convince the Russian authorities to free Pussy Riot by collecting a 10,000-signature petition. The human rights group slammed the sentence as "a bitter blow to freedom of expression" in Russia, calling on officials to revoke it. Amnesty International has criticized the verdict, but you cannot accuse the Amnesty of hypocrisy in respect of Bahrain; they have been even more critical in the case of Bahrain, Naiman told RT. The reason that more people know what Amnesty said about Pussy Riot case is because there is higher Western media scrutiny. The Western media love to play the role especially the mainstream media of kind of an attack-dog: were a vigorous defender of human rights when a US policy is not implicated. But when we talk of Bahrain thats a part of the empire, and the US media response tends to be rather muted. Another reason why Western media are silent about Bahrain might be because they lack a marketing angle for the story, while the outcry about Pussy Riot draws much more attention, Gerhard Mangott, a professor of political science at Innsbruck University told RT. You cant sell a story about Shia Muslims in Bahrain, Mangott explained. Europeans do not know what Bahrain is, United States citizens do not know that either. They do not have any idea about the political system in Bahrain and they are quite bleary about Muslims. So for many of the media its simple to sell the Pussy Riot case and its difficult to sell the Bahraini Nabil Rajab case. There is a solid set of old stereotypes on which a story about Russia can always be based, Mangott says. For many Europeans, and even more so for people in the US, there is still that old stereotype of Russia being an enemy, an alien society, a barbarian society, he said. So in addressing the problem between Russian religious and political leadership and these three young women, you can always refer to this traditional stereotype. You dont have that in the Bahraini case.

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Meanwhile, the stream of global reactions provoked a reaction with the Russian Foreign Ministry, which pointed out that insults to believers in such countries as Germany or Austria could also result in offenders imprisonment. In Germanys Criminal Code, misdeeds against religions or ideologies (in particular, 166 and 167) including acts of hooliganism inside houses of worship are punished with up to a three year imprisonment or a fine, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday on its official website. On Friday, Alyokhina, Samutsevich and Tolokonnikova were sentenced to two years each in a medium-security prison. Prosecutors charged them with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred following their mock prayer Virgin Mary, banish Putin in Moscows Christ the Savior Cathedral back in February. The defense team has 10 days to appeal the courts decision. PUSSY RIOT SOLIDARITY: TOPLESS UKRAINIAN ACTIVIST CHAINSAWS CRUCIFIX http://rt.com/news/femen-cross-pussy-riot-930/ SYRIA: GROUND ZERO FOR GEOPOLITICAL MACHISMO (OP-ED) http://rt.com/news/syria-war-women-role-118/ WOMEN ARE LESS CORRUPT SO PUT THEM IN POWER http://rt.com/news/women-india-power-quota/ YEAR OF THE WOMAN: FOR FIRST TIME ALL OLYMPIC TEAMS INCLUDE FEMALE ATHLETES http://rt.com/sport/london-olympic-women-team-275/ TUNISIAN WOMEN PROTEST INEQUALITY BILL LABELING THEM 'COMPLEMENTARY' TO MEN (PHOTOS) http://rt.com/news/tunisia-women-rights-rally-609/ AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 9 - IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FURTHER? LGBT RIGHTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LINK TO HIV/AIDS

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RUSSIA BLOCKS CES YOUTH RESOLUTION OVER DISAGREEMENTS ON LGBT POLICY45 26 September, 2012 Russia has refused to ratify the European Councils (sic! Council of Europe) resolution on Youth Politics after other countries representatives unexpectedly amended the document with a paragraph on sexual minorities rights and suggested that it received a key status. As a result, the joint signing of the document was blocked, Russian online daily Gazeta.ru reported, quoting its own correspondent at the conference of European ministers responsible for youth in St Petersburg. The conferences have been going on since 1985, and this is the first time a resolution like this has not been agreed. Officials from the Russian delegation did not immediately comment on the move, but one of them the aide to Russian Minister of Education and Science Aleksandr Stradze wrote in his twitter microblog that the Russian Federations delegation does not consider this issue to be among the priorities within the framework of the realization of the youth policy. The priorities are different, the official wrote. Stradze added that Russia was still observing the principles of the European Human Rights Convention that forbid the discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Swedish Minister for Gender Equality, Nyamko Sabuni, said, that the failure to approve the final declaration was a very important factor that can be not understood by the Council of Europe. Russian politicians are currently waging a major campaign against so-called homosexual propaganda. As a first step the hosting city of the CEs conference St Petersburg approved a regional law which introduced large fines for the public promotion of homosexuality and paedophilia towards minors. Several other regions also introduced similar regulations and a group of MPs in the Federal Parliament have proposed a similar national law. LGBT activists also face other restrictions, like a 100 year ban on gay pride events in Moscow. They are now taking a case against the ban to the International Court of Human Rights. MOSCOW BANS GAY PRIDE FOR CENTURY AHEAD http://rt.com/politics/moscow-city-court-gay-247/ NO FEAR: MADONNA STANDS UP FOR GAY RIGHTS IN ST. PETERSBURG http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/madonna-gay-rights-petersburg-353/ VIETNAM HOSTS FIRST-EVER LGBT PARADE: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LAW TO FOLLOW? http://rt.com/news/vietnam-gay-parade-marriage-law-904/ CAME TO FIGHT: UKRAINES LGBT LEADER BEATEN UPON CANCELING GAY PARADE http://rt.com/news/gay-parade-kiev-attack-813/

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UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME -UNEP MDG 7 - ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 7.A: INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 7.C: HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION.

AS THE PLANET WARMS, ITS THE POOR AROUND THE WORLD WHO WILL SUFFER THE MOST46 20 November, 2012 Thats the warning coming from a new World Bank report that projects global temperatures increasing 4-degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The temperature increase will be felt the most along the equator in the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of the United States. This temperature increase will lead to scarcity in water and food resources and disruptions in biodiversity which could force mass migrations of people out of affected areas. Rising temperatures will also lead to rising sea levels which threaten cities located in India, Mexico, and Vietnam as well as several African nations. The World Bank also warns that several small islands around the planet will likely be unable to sustain their populations by 2100. This is the threat that the entire planet faces if global climate change is left unchecked. Luckily people are getting active.

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On Sunday thousands of people showed up outside the White House to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been described by climate scientists as a ticking time bomb for the planet. We need more people in the streets to force government to listen to the future generations that will inherit this planet rather than the oil barons that are destroying it. CARBON MASOCHISM: WORLD PAYS LIP SERVICE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, WHILE EUROPE PAYS THE PRICE47 10 December, 2012 - Igor Ogorodnev, RT Despite a flurry of grand initiatives, Doha 2012 has yielded few specifics with Europe the only major carbon emitter prepared to set clear emissions targets. Its zeal is likely to hamper growth, while doing little to lower worldwide CO2 levels. -The two-week UN climate change conference in the oil-funded opulence of Qatar had to be extended by a day to produce an agreement that is only as much in name. The lasting image of the summit was chairman Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah bringing down his gavel and declaring It is so decided! as delegates in the auditorium continued to bicker. The biggest formal triumph proclaimed at the conclusion was the extension of the Kyoto agreement for another eight years beyond 2012. The 1997 pact is the only binding treaty that forces countries to cut carbon dioxide emissions at the risk of economic penalties (though if they do not meet their targets, they can always just withdraw, like Canada). It is also grotesquely inadequate setting big targets for developed countries and none for the developing world, exactly where emissions are growing fastest of all. For example, since the 1990 benchmark, Europe has cut its emissions by 5% while Chinas have more than quadrupled, making its the worlds biggest emitter. Net result so far, a 58 per cent worldwide rise in emissions. Meanwhile, the UNs own climate experts say that to combat inexorable and catastrophic global warming, cuts of 80 per cent to the base levels are necessary. Taking into account the rises that have already happened, the cuts actually need to be 87 per cent from the current levels. Simply put, this is not going to happen. Even those countries that initially supported the treaty Russia, Japan and Canada have bailed out, arguing it is pointless to extend the Protocol and take on new targets when the developing nations have none to follow, yet being one of the fastest growing polluters out there. The remaining signatories, primarily in Europe (Australia has also joined, but has a much softer set of targets) account for only 15 per cent of the worlds carbon emissions. Greenpeace called the outcome a failure," Friends of the Earth a sham, and the Union of Concerned Scientists said the deal was a victory for the coal and oil industries. Developing countries pushed to extend the Koyto Protocol and three years ago called for firm commitments from rich nations to transfer $100 billion per year climate aid starting from 2020. But at the end of the day poorer nations were left unsatisfied, as no concrete steps were set out or adopted by the developed countries, nor any commitments made.

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Faced with a situation where it cant seriously reduce emissions, even if it shuts down every factory and turns out all the lights, Europe is left with the moral high ground. But that doesnt come for free. With ever more dangerous carbon levies and subsidies to ambitious but unviable clean energy schemes, European businesses, already burdened with inflexible labor laws and high wages, will lose even more competitiveness. And its not like Europe can afford saintliness. While the world economy will grow by three per cent this year, and the US by two, Europe will record no growth at all. In fact, at the current rate some already uncompetitive European economies such as Greece and Spain will be able to achieve the necessary emissions reductions through sheer economic shrinkage, without the need for any fancy renewables. But at least Europe will be pulling its weight or so it seems. Although its impact is almost impossible to calculate precisely, carbon leakage has already been identified as a major problem arising from the not-quite-global Kyoto treaty. In a globalized economy and faced with stiff emission-curbing legislation, companies are simply relocating from Europe to other non-signatory countries. Even more so, when deciding where to build new plants. The outcome of this is simply that the CO2-emitting industry is simply shifting to different locations, with no net decrease. In fact, ironically, the new manufacturing plant located, say, somewhere in China is likely to be more polluting than one that was shut down for ecological reasons back in Europe. But as Europeans watch their Japanese-made TVs, read through environmentalist blogs on their Chinese-assembled iPhones, and eat their South Americanimported fruit, they can rest easy in the thought that they, personally, live in a green country. European politicians believe that they are "leading the way" on climate change hoping the others will catch up to their messianic fervor, and standing to profit from its green innovations. But whether it is due to the economic turmoil of the past few years, or the subtly but inexorably rising amount of skepticism about climate modeling science, the world has stopped following. RUSSIA KEY TO SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN ASIA - RUSAL'S CEO http://rt.com/business/news/economy-growth-russia-asia-586/ EXIT FROM THE KYOTO PROTOCOL WONT AFFECT RUSSIAN ECONOMY http://rt.com/business/news/russia-exit-kyoto-economy-729/ GLOBAL 'WATER WAR' THREAT BY 2030 - US INTELLIGENCE http://rt.com/news/water-conflict-terrorism-rivers-239/ WATER IS THE NEW OIL http://rt.com/news/pure-water-new-oil/

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WORLD BANK-WB MDG 8 - DEVELOP DEVELOPMENT

GLOBAL

PARTNERSHIP

FOR

AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 8.A DEVELOP FURTHER AN OPEN, RULE-BASED, PREDICTABLE, NON DISCRIMINATORY TRADING AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.D DEAL COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE DEBT PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

PUTIN: RUSSIA WILL STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH DURING G20 PRESIDENCY48 Vladimir Putin says Russia will strive to establish better financial regulation and greater transparency during its presidency over the club of the worlds biggest economies. President Putins welcoming address was published on the official site of Russias G20 presidency: Dear friends, On December 1, 2012, Russia will assume the presidency of the G20, the informal grouping of the world's biggest economies. We see this above all as a chance to offer our partners a positive and substantive agenda aimed at resolving the common problems of concern to all countries. We will of course also make effective use of our presidency to address our long-term national goals and strengthen Russia's place in global economic governance. The G20 was established in 2008 and has become an important instrument in managing and responding to crises. Through their coordinated action, in just a short period of time, the participating countries managed to stop the economic slide and tighten supervision over national

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financial systems. They then began systemic transformation of the international financial and economic architecture to bring it into line with twenty-first century demands and started developing the mechanisms that will give us maximum protection from risks, strengthening mutual trust, and giving the impulse for sustained and balanced global economic development. We believe that the Russian presidency's main task will be to focus the G20's efforts on developing measures to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. What will this require? We think the answer is clear: investment incentives, trust and transparency in markets, and effective regulation. These priorities will be at the heart of discussion of the various issues traditionally on the G20's agenda. These issues include the state of the global economy, implementing the framework agreement for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, facilitating job creation, reforming the currency and financial regulation and supervision systems, stability on global energy markets, stimulating international development, strengthening multilateral trade, and countering corruption. We will also include two new issues on the financial agenda: financing investment as a basis for economic growth and job creation, and modernising national public borrowing and sovereign debt management systems. Thus, the Russian presidency will ensure continuity in the G20's agenda and fulfilment of earlier commitments, while at the same time offering new approaches to examine. Russia is ready for the broadest possible cooperation on reaching the G20's objectives. In order to make the G20's work more effective and transparent and increase trust in what it is doing, we will hold broad consultations with all interested parties, with countries not part of the G20, and also with international, expert and trade union organisations, and business community, civil society and youth representatives. Practice shows that global measures are only effective when they are based on the views and take into account the interests of different groups. We hope that Russia's presidency of the G20 will help to consolidate the participating countries' efforts in order to achieve our common goal of resolving the most serious problems facing the global economy, ensuring sustainable growth for the entire international community's benefit, and giving millions of people around the world a better standard of living. Russia is open for dialogue and constructive cooperation. RUSSIA SLASHES AFRICAN DEBT AND INCREASES AID49 Russia is writing off $20bln in African debt coupled with a $50mln donation to the poorest countries. This is part of a diplomatic move to help the African Continent. "We take part in peacekeeping operations on the continent. We expand programmes to train African peacekeepers and law enforcers," Vladimir Sergeyev, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry Department of International Organisations, told the UN General Assembly. Zambia and Tanzania are among other countries due to get help from Russia, which comes under the framework of the U.N. Debt Relief Initiative. The agreements signed between the countries involve funding promising projects in agriculture, education and medicine. "We are preparing similar agreements with Benin, Mozambique and Ethiopia," Sergeyev added.

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On top of that, Russia allocated another $50mln to the World Bank to support the most fragile states, primarily the part of the continent located south of the Sahara. "Humanitarian aid is provided to the countries of the region on a bilateral basis. Donor assistance is rendered to Ethiopia, Somalia, Guinea, Kenya and Djibouti," the Russian diplomat specified. Russia was also planning to spend $42.9mln to improve quality of elementary education in developing countries, including Africa. "Over 8,000 African students have received education in Russian universities. Half of them have their tuition paid for by the Russian government," Sergeyev said. UPHILL BATTLE: RUSSIA AT THE HELM OF G20 http://rt.com/politics/columns/sergey-strokan-column/russia-g20-uphill-battle/ RUSSIAS PARLIAMENT RATIFIES WTO ENTRY http://rt.com/business/news/russia-wto-enry-ratification-810/ WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? RUSSIANS & WTO http://rt.com/business/news/russia-wto-consumers-impact-983/ BRICS: NO RIGHTS - NO CASH http://rt.com/business/news/imf-brics-finance-money-fund-us-lagarde-551/ BRICS POUR CASH INTO THE IMF IN EXCHANGE FOR A BIGGER SAY http://rt.com/business/news/imf-brics-funds-boost-153/ LATIN AMERICA AND EU END 20 YEAR OLD BANANA WAR http://rt.com/business/news/latin-america-eu-banana-tariffs-326/ LATIN AMERICA NEEDS INDEPENDENCE TO PROSPER PRESIDENT OF NICARAGUA http://rt.com/news/latin-america-independence-ortega-623/ WRONG DESTINATION? UK DEBATES AID TO INDIA http://rt.com/news/uk-debates-india-aid-393/ PUTIN: WE NEED A NEW ECONOMY http://rt.com/politics/official-word/putin-article-economy-competitiveness-011/

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RAI NEWS

INTRODUCTION BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHANNEL AUDIENCE INCREASE MAIN PROGRAMMES RAI NEWS 24 AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUN'S AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION
Rai news is the Italian State-owned 24-hours all news television channel, broadcasting on digital terrestrial television in Italy and via satellite around Europe and North America

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHANNEL

On April 26, 1999, a Service Contract between the Italian public television network RAI and the Italian Minister of Communications was signed and Rai News, was created. The public-all-news-channel wanted to experiment an innovative model which combines television, internet and digital technologies. The choice of a multi-screen format, widespread use of video conference connections with correspondents and experts, was significant. One of its strongest point is the research of the separation from narration of the news and opinions about the news. Often, to not bias the viewer, videos are broadcast without commentary, and only some subtitles. In the last months of 2005, during the Iraq war, it has broadcasted significant scoops, in particular about the use of specific arms (like white phosphorus or napalm) from the American armed forces, and about the behavior in war of some Italians soldiers in Nassiyria. From November 2006, when the Italian Journalist Corradino Mineo became its chief, the channel uses a new graphic, similar to BBC Word News. The latest innovation is the introduction, in April 2012, of "flash news", broadcasted in the intervals of others Rai Channels programs. Today, every 30 minutes, the channel broadcasts a 15-minute newscast and a 15-minute focus on current events or economy. The slogan of the channel is Il Mondo con Voi, The World is with You.

2. AUDIENCE INCREASE
Between January and April of 2012, the channel has registered a big increase in audience. In particular, the average of daily audience is around 16.141 people, reaching the highest point (200.000 people) with the program "Il Caff di Corradino Mineo". Rai News broadcasts from the RAI Production Center located in the northern Rome neighborhood Saxa Rubra, inaugurated in 1990 as International Broadcasting Centre hosting the international press for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Since 2006, Rai News has been led by Corradino Mineo, former Rai correspondent from Paris and New York. The editorial staff is composed by many well-known and appreciated journalist such as Raffaella Soleri, Enzo Cappucci, Elena De Feo, Vittorio Di Trapani and Francesco Gatti.

MAIN PROGRAMMES
Rai News!?! Buongionro Italia! (It is the flagship program of the channel) Notiziario (every half-hour) Meteonews24 (weather bulletin, every half-hour) Notizie dal CCISS viaggiare informati (traffic alert bulletin, every half-hour)

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Dentro la notizia Decoder. Le immagini che fanno notizia (Images with subtitles in Italian from APTN, Reuters and its affiliates) L'economia (heading on the economy) Rassegna stampa (press review of national and international newspapers, with the second part dedicated to the the local newspapers) Il caff delle 20 (heading Policy, ) Giro di Boa (actuality resumee) http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_News

RAI NEWS 24 AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals, which range from halving extreme poverty to providing universal primary education in Developing Countries. They were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, after the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 193 United Nations member states, Italy included, and at least 23 international organizations, have agreed to achieve these goals by the year 2015. Due in part to the 2011 2012 Finance Law, which reduced the funds from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Italian Cooperation, Italy in the last years has devoted most of its efforts to the fight against poverty and hunger, leaving behind other issues and goals such as gender equality and children education . Such issues, together with sustainable development's questions, are also left behind from the Italian Media, which cover first of all news related to poverty and hunger, especially in Africa and the Middle East. Rai News 24, as the Italian State owned all news channel, wants to take advantage of this International Summit to attract the Italian public opinion on issues related to women, children education and environmental sustainability, and eventually push the Italian Cooperation for a redefinition of its priorities. Rai News 24 wants its journalists to be focused on MDGs 2, 3 and 7 (Committee 2, 4, 5 and 6) and eventually pay attention to the position of and about Asian and Latin American developing Countries. Moreover, particular attention should be given in debates on Press Freedom (Committee 4), LGBT rights (Committee 5) and HIV treatment (Committee 3), considered interesting for the Italian public opinion. Further indications on how to deal with each topic will be given in the next points. You will also find links to RaiNews24 articles related to the agenda of each committee, and other sources that the Channel considers interesting and useful for its journalists.

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HTTP://WWW.UN.ORG/MILLENNIUMGOALS/2008HIGHLEVEL/PDF/COMMITMENTS/ITALY.PDF http://www.indexmundi.com/italy/millennium-development-goals.html

ARTICLES ABOUT ROMEMUN'S AGENDA TOPICS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

GENERAL ASSEMBLY - PLENARY MEETING-GA

MDG 1 - ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 1.A + 1.B - POVERTY ISSUE (REF. 2.A - SCHOOLING) HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN 1$ PER DAY FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 1.C - HUNGER HALVE THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HUNGER RaiNews24 wants you to give voice to the position of Latin American Countries such as Peru and Bolivia in which, as you can read in the following article, there's one of the deep gap between rich and poor children. ITALY HAS EUROPES HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN IN POVERTY, SAYS UNICEF50 Close to 2 million kids live in poverty in Europe's third-largest economy, according to a new UNICEF report. The country has the highest percentage of child poverty in all 25 European countries, a longstanding crisis that predates the nations current economic woes. Italy may conjure up postcard perfect images of beauty, art, and culture, but it is also a country in which nearly 2 million children are struggling to survive. Every morning, hundreds of thousands of children in Italys poorest regions wake up hungry. Some have never used a computer because the schools cant afford them in the classrooms. Many dont go to school at all, or when they do they drop out, hoping to find scarce jobs. While their parents try to eke out a living, infants are left alone with young children as caregivers because of a lack of public day care. A growing number of children work as laborers on farms. Others are pushed into

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the sex trade to help support their families. Thousands live without basic amenities like hot water, regular meals, or simple health careall in picturesque Italy. According to a report by UNICEF (United Nations Childrens Fund) issued Feb. 28, Italy has the highest percentage of children living below the poverty line of 25 European nations, and the situation is only getting worse. In Italy, there are 1.8 million children living under the poverty line, says Giacomo Guerrera, head of UNICEF Italy. We could make this problem go away if only it were a priority on every local community and government agenda. This shouldnt be happening in Italy, Europes third-largest economy. Sure, the country is in the midst of an epic financial crisis that saw it nearly default on its deficit late last year. The new interim government under technocrat Mario Monti has also been forced to tighten up the countrys budget. But thats not the crux of the child poverty problem. After all, its hard to cut services that have never existed. In fact, childhood poverty was a problem in Italy long before the current economic debacle. The divide between Italys wealthy north and its suffering south has always been a point of contention for lawmakers in Rome. Italy allocates only 4.4 percent of its total social expenditures on social services for children, meaning only 1.1 percent of the total GDP goes to investing in services like public child care that would allow more parents to work. Private investments from businesses do fill the gap. But in most cases the Mezzogiorno, as the poorest regions of the deep south are known, is often overlooked because of the high rate of organized crime that has infiltrated both the public-works sector and local government entities. In recent years companies have received tax breaks for investing in the Mezzogiorno and defying the mob, but many of those companies are now closing factories and heading back north where their investments are safer during these tough economic times.

Illustration by Daniele Butera / Getty Images These attempts to bolster the southern communities as a whole have been moderately successful through the years, though the efforts rarely trickle down to the regions most vulnerable. Many of the countrys poorest children live in or near the very cities where recent government investments have greatly enhanced the lives of many others. But so many families in the Mezzogiorno live on the edge of the poverty divide that government aid and incentives are never enough to cover everyone. Urban renewal and government investments over the years have provided playgrounds, better schools, and safe sports facilities for communities that have been overlooked for decades. Public child care has also increased, but spots are first given to working parents, so the unemployed who are searching for work dont qualify, creating a Catch 22 situation.

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In most cases, Italys very poorest children have fallen through the cracks, and as the country struggles through an economic crisis, there is no expectation that things will get better any time soon. Instead, an increasing number of families with children are joining the ranks of the extreme poor. What meager services are available will have to be spread even thinner. One in two minors in Italy lives in what is considered absolute poverty. According to UNICEF, that means families are able to provide only one adequate meal every two days and they often cannot provide necessary medical treatment. In Italy, some 25 percent of children are now at risk of poverty, Daniela Del Boca, director of CHILD (Center for Household, Income, Labor and Demographic Economies) at the University of Turin. This proportion is much higher than the average proportion of children at risk of poverty in the rest of the European Union. One in two minors in Italy lives in what is considered absolute poverty, a condition under which basic needs are not met. According to the UNICEF report, that means families are able to provide only one adequate meal every two days and they often cannot provide necessary medical treatment, either because they cannot access public-health services due to lack of funds for transportation, or they cannot buy simple over-the-counter medicines like aspirin or even BandAids for their children. Of the poorest of the poor, 42 percent live in Sicily, 32 percent in Campania, 31 percent in Basilicata, and the rest are spread around the wealthier northern regions, including 8.6 percent in the very wealthy Veneto region ITALY'S POVERTY ON THE RISE http://www.i-italy.org/18489/italys-poverty-rise ONE STORY - MADAGASCAR (ENGLISH VERSION) http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-c5295ef3-0497-4580-a5d58e789242cd5d.html POVERT, CRESCE IL DIVARIO http://www.rainews24.it/it/news.php?newsid=171736 RAPPORTO: ITALIA E LA LOTTA ALLA POVERT NEL MONDO http://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/cooperazione/2012/09/25/news/l_italia_e_la_lotta_alla_po vert_la_politica_pensa_solo_alle_lotterie-43280275/ COOPERAZIONE ITALIANA ALLA GIORNATA MONDIALE DELL'ALIMENTAZIONE http://www.cooperazioneallosviluppo.esteri.it/pdgcs/italiano/Speciali/WFD12/Intro.htm WORLD FOOD PROGRAM http://www.wfp.org/hunger A PARTNERSHIP TO ERADICATE RURAL POVERTY http://www.ifad.org/pub/italy/Flyer_e.pdf http://www.eaea.org/news.php?aid=17328&d=2010-01

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UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL-SC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICTS AGENDA TOPIC 2 RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLE

UN ITALY FUNDS TRAINING IN PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT51

The Italian Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva hosted a presentation of the results of a project for the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) aimed at the creation of a training module for civilian and military personnel on peacekeeping missions dealing with the protection of children involved in armed conflict. The first phase of the initiative, which was launched last year thanks to funding from Italy, recently ended with a workshop of experts at the UN Logistics Base in Brindisi. As a result of Italys awareness raising efforts, Austria, Canada and Germany have decided to fund the remaining phases of the project. Updating and rationalising existing training programmes Ambassador Laura Mirachian pointed out that the DPKO project was centred on two priority aspects of Italian foreign policy: support for UN peacekeeping operations and the protection of children in armed conflict. Recalling how peacekeepers are increasingly finding themselves in conflicts involving minors, Mirachian emphasized the strategic nature of the project, which aims at updating and rationalising various existing training programmes and at making a flexible and useable tool rapidly available. The DPKO has outlined a three-pronged approach for the next phases of the project: to set up a uniform and updated training module based on the Brindisi results; to ensure that it is accompanied by clear implementation guidelines (it emerged that only 60% of UN mission make use of training courses for the protection of children); developing forms of collaboration with peacekeeping training centres and Member States to test and apply the training module.

ITALY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Politica_Estera/Temi_Globali/Diritti_Umani/LItalia_e_i_Diritti_Umani.htm

ITALY HOSTS CHILD SOLDIERS SYMPOSIUM

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POVERT, CRESCE IL DIVARIO http://www.rainews24.it/it/news.php?newsid=171736 CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT WEBSITE http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALIA ONLUS FOR WORLD EDUCATION http://www.savethechildren.it/IT/Page/t01/view_html?idp=351 WORLD BANK EFA FAST TRACK INITIATIVE (EDUCATION FOR ALL) http://www.globalpartnership.org/mid-term-evaluation-of-the-efa-fast-track-initiative POSITION PAPER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/10019.it08.pdf http://unipd-centrodirittiumani.it/en/schede/The-effects-of-the-production-and-the-use-ofagrofuels-on-human-rights-the-indigenous-peoples-right-to-land-and-territory/224 http://social.un.org/index/IndigenousPeoples.aspx

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION-WHO

MDG 6 - COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 6.A + 6.B - MOTIONED IN THIS ORDER HAVE HALTED THE INCIDENCE OF HIV BY 2015 UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR HIV AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.E IN COOPERATION WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL DRUGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

PROVIDE

ACCESS

TO

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/ GIORNATA MONDIALE PER LA LOTTA ALL'AIDS

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http://www.rainews24.it/it/foto-gallery.php?galleryid=172155&photoid=446114 RaiNews24 wants to underline Countries position on the topic prevention vs treatment. That is, whether it is more important to spread awareness about prevention and the use of condom, or to push pharmaceutical companies to provide access to essential drugs, as the Target 8.a provide. The Channel considers particularly interesting the topic of Pharmaceutical Oligopoly. http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/issues/hiv/italy.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/documents/case-studies/myanmar_health_en.pdf http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_podium/2012/03/a_gamechanger_in_the_fight_ag.html

ITALIAN WINE A LIFE-SAVER IN FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS http://www.santegidio.org/pageid/64/langid/vi/itemid/8019/italian_wine_a_lifesaver_in_fight_a gainst_hivaids.html TRUVADA, LA PILLOLA CHE PREVIENE IL CONTAGIO http://www.corriere.it/salute/12_maggio_12/pillola-anti-aids_5aa320d4-9c42-11e1-a2f4f4353ea0ae1a.shtml COME CAMBIATO L'HIV http://salute24.ilsole24ore.com/articles/14961-aids-la-giornata-mondiale-da-peste-a-malattiacronica-ecco-com-e-cambiato-l-hiv WHO: GENDER INEQUALITIES AND HIV: HTTP://WWW.WHO.INT/GENDER/HIV_AIDS/EN/ The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS: http://www.womenandaids.net/Home.aspx

UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION-UNESCO

MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

AND

CULTURAL

AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 2.A ENSURE THAT, BY 2015, CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE, WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE A FULL COURSE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING MDG 8 - DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.F + INSIGHT IN COOPERATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, MAKE AVAILABLE BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

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Spread of information, access to the World Wide Web and fast communication are related to the very same interest of the Channel, so that an account of the situation in developing Countries should be given. Moreover, the relation between access to the Internet and Press Freedom in Developing Countries it's a matter of interest.

UNICEF - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION http://www.unicef.org/mdg/education.html LIBERT DI STAMPA, ITALIA 61A NEL MONDO http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=161005 WORDL PRESS FREEDOM REPORT 2012 FROM REPORTER SENZA FRONTIERE http://rsfitalia.org/classifica-della-liberta-di-stampa-2011-2012-3/ UNESCO ON PRESS FREEDOM http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/freedom-of-expression/pressfreedom/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gjP6arpP8c

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL-UNHRC

AGENDA TOPIC 1 MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN TARGET 3.A ELIMINATE GENDER DISPARITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, PREFERABLY BY 2005, AND IN ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION NO LATER THAN 2015 Women are slowly rising to political power but, first of all in Italy, there's still a gap between men and women opportunities in top level jobs. The Channel wants to put emphasis on this point. For what concern the second topic, RaiNews24 wants to underline the position of and about Uganda (recently issuing an 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill' see below) and of and about South Africa (first African Country which has legalized homosexual union), considering them interesting for the Italian public opinion. For what concern HIV matters, see Topics of World Health Organization WHO.

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IL NOBEL CONTRO IL BURQA, NON MUSULMANO http://www.rainews24.it/it/news.php?newsid=137826 INDIA, PAESE PEGGIORE PER LE DONNE. ITALIA ULTIMA DEL G8 PER PARI OPPORTUNIT http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2012/08/07/diritti-india-peggiore-per-le-donne-italia-ultima-delg8-per-pari-opportunita/317627/ AGENDA TOPIC 2 MDG 9 - IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FURTHER? LGBT RIGHTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LINK TO HIV/AIDS GAY MARRIAGE IN ITALY UP TO PARLIAMENT: MARIO MONTI52

ROME -- Italian Premier Mario Monti, who is being backed by the Vatican in his bid for reelection, says gay rights issues including gay marriage _should be decided by Parliament, not his government if he wins. Monti told Sky TG24 TV on Sunday that issues involving personal dignity are more important that economic reforms. But he stressed that his coalition forces, which include pro-Vatican centrists, came together to work on the more "urgent" task of achieving economic growth in recessionmired Italy. He says the new Parliament will have a greater role than the government in dealing with gay rights. Monti didn't express his personal opinion on gay marriage. Same-sex marriage isn't permitted in Italy. The Vatican, which carries significant influence in Italian politics, opposes same-sex marriage. I FRANCESI PROTESTANO CONTRO LE NOZZE GAY http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=173695 MATRIMONI GAY, IL JOLLY DI SARKOZY http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/news.php?newsid=160593 I MATRIMONI OMOSESSUALI NEL MONDO: DALLA LEGALIZZAZIONE ALLA PENA CAPITALE http://www.corriere.it/esteri/12_maggio_10/matrimoni-omosessuali-nel-mondo-_d59c41e89a95-11e1-9cca-309e24d49d79.shtml

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BBC NEWS UGANDA ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20463887 GAY POLITICIANS SIGNAL ATTITUDE CHANGE IN ITALY http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/italy/121101/italy-gay-politicianscrocetta-sicily http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Italy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica http://www.aidstarone.com/focus_areas/prevention/resources/technical_briefs/human_rights_considerations_for_ msm

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME-UNEP

MDG 7 - ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 7.A INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 7.C HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION. The Channel considers questions of environmental sustainability very important. RaiNews24 believes that informing about environmental issues is a responsibility that all the Media should take, in order to make people aware of the environmental conditions of our planet, motivate them in contributing to a more sustainable development. SUSTAINABILITY IN ITALY: WHAT BIG RETAIL PLAYERS ARE DOING53.

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Italians are virtuous, with a constantly growing attention towards the environment among young people. This is the picture that emerges from the research about Italian Sustainability and emerging lifestyles: 2,500 interviews, a sample of the Italian population aged between 15 and 74 years. Objective: To identify the most common habits among Italians to reduce their environmental impact. The majority of Italians, 50.9%, is sensitive to issues related to sustainability, 48.6% said they buy environmentally friendly products. There is a 36.4% claiming to not care and a 12.7% which is almost hostile to the subject, explains Monica Fabris, sociologist, currently president of the Episteme institute of research. Sustainability is primarily a response to unconscious needs: fear, for example. And the international crisis in this sense was crucial because it demonstrated the unsustainability of many behaviors, limited resources and has spread the importance of having more conservative attitudes. This explanation of Fabris, that the sensitivity of the Italian added: We are not the most attentive of Europe, but we have a different kind of sustainability. In the research we have identified four types of green attitudes. There are promoters of a shared involvment (10.9%) who practice a sort of militant environmentalism, they think that everyone can do something and that sustainability is a value. Then there are the those who judge (10.4%), people who feel the need to see polluters and waste producers being legally punished. The vision of eco-nostalgic (14.8%) is about a return to the past and considering saving and reducing consumption real goals. Finally, there is the vanguard of sustainable consumption (63,9%) who have a key to modern, pragmatic and are willing to pay for more virtuous behaviours This last category direct their purchases mainly to products of the big market, identified as guarantors of attitudes ecofriendly. All the big brands have sustainable programs. The projects are very varied and range from research to packaging more easily disposable and recyclable materials to reduce water consumption, the increasing presence of photovoltaic systems to supplement the energy needs of the factories to the use of new production technologies with low environmental impact says Ivo Ferrario, director of communications Centromarca, the association of the most important companies active in Italy brand. Huge efforts are also undertaken to provide consumers with a better information, and to educate companiesemployees thanks to specific activities regarding the environmental and sustainability issues. In this direction is the Total Quality Day organized by Coca-Cola HBC Italy: each year, employees spend a day and a half attending comprehensive educational programs about safety and environment. We talk about the correct control of raw materials, top quality production processes, optimization of cargo handling and a more effective waste management, says Alessandro Magnoni, Communication and External Relations Manager. About sustainability, last June we put into operation a large cogeneration plant in Nogales (Vr), which has already reduced CO2 emissions by 66% and increased energy efficiency up to 83%. But this is just the beginning, we plan to equip all eight Italian plants with photovoltaic systems, an operation that will avoid the emission of 11,500 tons of CO2.

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Another international brand is following the same path, Heineken, which in 2010 presented a tenyear plan Brewing a better future. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions resulting from production processes by 40% and to fall by 25% on water consumption. All by 2020 explains Alfredo Pratolongo, Communication and Institutional Affairs Manater at Heineken Italy. A strong commitment to social responsibility is also the mission of Procter & Gamble, a leader in consumer products which collects 300 brands: We have halved the production of waste and CO2 in our plants and use alternative energy generated by wind and photovoltaic systems says the head of Italys sustainability policies, Renato Sciarrillo. He adds: For those of us who handles many products we have 140 factories in 80 countries -logistics is crucial: we want to move 30% by rail transport. But thats not all. Concentrated products ensure reductions in packaging up to 45% and the research is aiming at finding new materials to replace plastics. About packaging, Nestl has a dedicated team that study sizes and materials to reduce environmental impact. In 2010, in Italy we have avoided the use of 147 tons of materials including metal, paper and plastic. Our objective is to optimize weight and volume, to use materials that you can recover properly, to develop materials from renewable sources and to support initiatives to recycle and recover energy from used packaging explains Manuela Kron, Nestl Group Italy Corporate Affairs manager. To do this we have added a cogeneration and regeneration power plant in San Sisto (PG) and Moretta (CN), which allow us to cut the emission of around 13 000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Investments in the study of eco packaging and using alternative energy are also key points for LOral. We have been working on green chemistry for over ten years and thanks to our research we have recently discovered cosmetic effects of natural sugars. This year we launched a major center for predictive evaluation in Gerland (Lyon) where more than 99% of our ingredients are animal-free tested. Our packaging use a high percentage of recyclable material, we only use wood fiber from certified forests. The Garnier brand, for example, in 2012 will cut the weight of packaging by 15%, says Giorgina Gallo, managing director of LOral Italy. And the future? The global goal for 2015 is a reduction of 50% in CO2 emissions, 50% of water consumption and waste generated per unit of finished product. In particular, our factory in Settimo Torinese, in the forefront on sustainability issues, is finalizing two projects that use alternative energy to become, by the end of 2012, a zero emissions plant. Always in Italy, another brand which is very attentive to sustainability is Barilla. Over 92% of our packaging is recyclable and now we want to exceed 95% in advance to target set for 2014. In recent years we have supplied cogeneration pasta plants, developed energy saving projects and replaced the electricity used in the production of Mulino Bianco products by Renewable Energy Certificate System certificates. This has reduced by about 10% the CO2 emissions for each unit of finished product, explains Barillas Head of Communications and Media, Giuseppe Cocconi. This anticipates the future: We want to reduce the impact of our products in a timely manner ensuring production processes throughout the supply chain. And as we have already informed you about, another worlwide known Italian company, Illy, have been awarded for its sustainable approach during the production processes, receiving the DNV Green Coffee Responsible Supply Chain Process certification. A certificate that emphasizes respect for the ecosystem through the use of recycled packaging and non-polluting practices. In Danone are applying a very tight control system too. In 2011 we will reach the goal of being the only company in this market segment to use thermoformed plastic, a new generation made much lighter and with less plastic, for the entire range of products explains Gianluca Mormino, director of Danone factory in Casale Cremasco . This system also allows you to sell the pots which

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are welded together, avoiding the secondary packaging. And we are studying biodegradable packaging. There is another sector which is very eco-friendly, and Philips is one of the brands involved. We have to meet annual targets tied to packaging, water and energy savings, explains Sergio Tonfi head of communications. In 2010, the green products accounted for 38% of our total revenues, in 2007 were 20%: this is the result of three years long investment in innovation worth about 1 billion euros (Source: Manuela Croci -Corriere.it) ENERGY [R]EVOLUTION: A SUSTAINABLE WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK http://www.greenpeace.org/italy/it/ufficiostampa/rapporti/energia2050/#a1 LAST NEWS ABOUT KYOTO PROTOCOL IN DECEMBER DOHA ROUND: http://www.rainews24.it/it/news.php?newsid=172448 http://www.rainews24.it/it/news.php?newsid=172444 LE FARFALLE E IL CAMBIAMENTO CLIMATICO http://www.rainews24.it/it/news.php?newsid=168638 CLIMATE CHANGE what to do http://www.informagiovani-italia.com/cambiamento_climatico_cosa_fare.htm GREENPEACE ITALY http://www.greenpeace.org/italy/it/ ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/italy/Italian%20NSDS.pdf ESDN (EUROPEAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NETWORK) http://www.sd-network.eu/

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WORLD BANK - WB
MDG 8 -GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TOPIC 1 TARGET 8.A DEVELOP FURTHER AN OPEN, RULE-BASED, PREDICTABLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY TRADING AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM AGENDA TOPIC 2 TARGET 8.D DEAL COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE DEBT PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Given the current situation of global economic and financial crisis, RaiNews24 wants to deal with question related to trade, finance and debt with a particular look on the European and Italian situation. DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS: WORKING PARTY GOOD-BYE, GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP HELLO! IS IT A TURNING POINT IN DEVELOPMENT?54

On June 28-29, the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness gathered in Paris for its last meeting, but gave birth to the new Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC). The GPEDC is now the global body to improve aid and

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development effectiveness, which should mean better aid policies and practices to eradicate poverty and generate sustainable growth. This is also about money, since according to donors and CSOs estimates, there is space to save from 10% to 30% through more effective aid. The GPEDC is the most immediate and tangible legacy of the fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness that was held in Busan, South Korea last December. The new GPEDC delivered on the forums key priorities by endorsing the proposals on its mandate and governance, a global monitoring system, and the support function that the OECD and UNDP will provide. It also approved a proposal for a new common standard for information dissemination. The founding documents for the GPEDC were submitted to the delegates by the Post Busan Interim Group, the multistakeholder working group that was mandated to set the new Global Partnership in motion. Talaat Malek, the chairperson of the PBIG, proudly ended the two day meeting claiming the group delivered the expected results thanks to an unusual spirit of cooperation and compromise. There are still some gaps to be filled though. Some substantial technical revisions are required if the new global monitoring framework is to be agreed, as scheduled, by the end of this year. Similarly, the common standard for information still requires some work and, more importantly will demand consistent commitments to be applied across the board. Some countries -- including from the G8 club of the wealthiest countries have said that external assistance is required to adjust to the new system. The leadership of the Global Partnership also poses immediate challenges. In fact, only one of the three co-chairs has been nominated, Andrew Mitchell of the UKs Department for International Development; the co-chairs from the developing (partner) and emerging countries have not yet been selected. The steering committee seats for the donor countries have been filled, but the other categories still have vacancies. All of these positions should be filled by the end of July. Now that the Working Party has been terminated, and the GPEDC is still finalizing its Steering Committee, the OECD and UNDP will be providing the required support functions. They will have the immediate responsibility for taking care of the pending tasks as well as for completing the process of choosing the members of the Steering Committee. Is the launch of the GPEDC a real turning point for global development strategies? This has been one of the lingering questions since the conclusions of the Busan meeting and will remain unresolved still for some time. In fact, as many in Working Party meeting noted, the real work starts now, with the implementation of the new framework at county level. It is still to be seen whether partner countries will be in a position to fully claim their leadership role in the GPEDC, as set out in the Busan agreement. In addition, emerging

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economies some of which are both donors and recipients (e.g. India) are yet to clarify what role they intend to play. But there are at least two solid facts to reflect on already. Governments have realized their ambition to move into a leaner operational framework than the latest incarnations of the Working Party, which scheduled regular plenary meetings throughout the year, plus a number of working groups and task teams. Donors claimed that it was too demanding and agreed to go global light. They have been successful: the Working Party met this year only this once, and that was to hand-over to a Global Partnership that will gather in plenary ministerial meetings only every 18/24 months. Over the past six months, multi-stakeholder discussions have been limited to a small post-Busan group and the opportunities to hear multiple and diverse voices have diminished dramatically. CSOs have observed this dynamic closely and highlighted this backward trend in their position papers. Representatives of the BetterAid coalition in Paris staged an all-out effort to catch the attention of the country delegations to push for the new Partnership to be truly multistakeholder and all actors to be treated equally. The litmus test was and still is the composition of the chairing group, which at the moment seems to be the prerogative of governments. The point was heard, with one response implying that CSOs were withdrawing from the GPDEC. This required a second intervention in plenary to clarify that CSOs remain engaged and need now to go back to their constituencies to plan the next steps. CONSEQUENCES OF EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CRISIS ON AFRICA DEBT http://www.africanews.it/crisi-debito-europea-conseguenze-per-lafrica/ ECUADOR POLICIES AGAINST THE DEBT HTTP //www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2012-11-15/lezione-ecuador-default-ripartire063909.shtml?uuid=Ab6PI32G&fromSearch

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ON TOPICS AND COMMITTEES PLEASE READ THE DELEGATES' GUIDES AND COMMITEES' GUIDE PUBLISHED ON ROMEMUN FORUM

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