Over the past two decades African leaders have become increasingly drawn to Chinese financing and investment. These investments are made rapidly and with reportedly less stringent conditions than traditional financing sources. Some also suggest that China’s approach aligns more closely with African priorities. This sentiment was summarised by the former president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, in 2008: China’s approach to our needs is simply better adapted than the slow and sometimes patronising post-colonial approach of European investors, donor organisations and non-governmental organisations … China has helped African nations build infrastructure projects in record time. African leaders attending this year’s 8th…
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In her final, annual report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, echoed wider, longstanding concerns from the UN and the international community about a crackdown on democratic freedoms and other serious rights abuses in the country. President Lukashenko, 69, has been in power since 1994 and is Europe’s longest-serving leader. “Repression in Belarus has reached such a scale and intensity that it should not be considered a safe country for anyone who ever showed disagreement with the government or its policies. I therefore reiterate my call to refrain from extraditions and expulsions…
On September 4 in Riga, Latvia, the United States and the Republic of Latvia signed the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Latvia on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. The Agreement will expand cooperation in science and technology and deepen the vital partnership between the United States and Latvia. The Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement notes our mutual pledge to facilitate dynamic and effective international cooperation, our recognition of the value of open data for scientific research, technological cooperation, and evidence-based decision-making, and our shared goals of preserving the norms…
The call for applications to the Gender Equality Champions opens today. Interested organisations can apply online via the Funding and Tenders Portal until 16 October 2024 at 17:00 CET.This prize awards outstanding achievements reached through the implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEP) put in place by universities, higher education institutions, and other research performing organisations (public or private), established in an EU Member State or a Third Country associated to Horizon Europe.There are 3 award categories:Sustainable Gender Equality Champions: Organisations that can demonstrate a significant and sustained record of activity and a high level of achievement through the implementation of their GEP.Newcomer Gender Equality…
HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $450,000 from a Honolulu air cargo carrier that shortchanged 250 employees of their full pay and benefits while fulfilling a $113 million U.S. Postal Service contract to move mail between airports in Hawaii.The recovery follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of Rhoades Aviation Inc., operating as TransAir, that determined the employer recklessly disregarded requirements in the Service Contract Act that sets prevailing wages and fringe benefits that employers under federal contract must pay. Specifically, division investigators found TransAir violated federal regulations by doing the following:Paying incorrect and lower prevailing…
The US stock market took a tumble early in August 2024 as fears rose of an economic slowdown. Then a few days later calm was restored, reminding us how quickly things can change in the financial world. And of all the market rises and falls, one type of stock has become particularly volatile. Known as “meme stocks”, they are shares that gain viral popularity with large numbers of investors through social media. This means that meme stocks often have a price which doesn’t reflect the true estimated value of the firm that has issued them. One of the most famous…
Issuing the appeal in Geneva on his behalf, Chief Spokesperson for his Office OHCHR, Ravina Shamdasani, “unequivocally” rejected the “false allegations” for which one staff member appeared to have been made to confess under duress. “These are completely made-up allegations,” she told journalists, highlighting “a video of our staff member that was put on social media as well which was clearly a forced confession. Our colleague looked very distressed in that video.” Total of 17 detained The six UN human rights staff – one woman and five men – were arrested on 6 June together with seven other UN personnel.…
Economist Milton Friedman’s influential maxim, that a company’s sole obligation is to maximize profits, is outdated. Many companies have voluntarily integrated social concerns into their business operations through corporate social responsibility, or CSR, policies for years. More recently, some companies have broadened their notion of what’s required of them beyond a traditional CSR approach by adopting what’s known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies that can be more appropriate for confronting challenges that go beyond the social realm, such as climate change. What happens when a company or a nonprofit operating at a national or global scale commits to…
This comes just two months after UN humanitarians declared Zimbabwe as one of the hunger hotspots where acute food insecurity was likely to deteriorate. The storm destroyed more than half of the country’s harvest, leaving about 7.6 million people at risk of acute hunger. El Niño is a regular and naturally occurring weather event which affects the air temperatures around the sea and coastal landmasses. The climate crisis in recent years has led to more frequent and intense patterns. Officials from the UN and the World Food Programme (WFP) recently visited Zimbabwe to determine the drought’s impact on the nation…
U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (SEHOA) Ambassador Mike Hammer will travel to Belgium, Kenya, and Ethiopia from September 3 to 13, 2024. In Brussels, SEHOA Hammer will consult with European Union and bilateral counterparts on recent developments in the Horn of Africa. In Nairobi, he will discuss regional and security issues with Kenyan officials. In Addis Ababa, SEHOA Hammer intends to follow-up with African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development officials on recent Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group’s efforts in Switzerland. He will also review implementation of the Pretoria Cessation of…