Global News Post: World

Mayans on '2012 Doomsday': Not happening at all

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By  <a href="http://www.groundreport.com/Aeon"> Can Tran </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/Aeon"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ground Report</span></a>--- As
December 21, 2012 soon approaches; the Mayans have weighed in on the talks of "doomsday."
To the Mayans, this is not true and that the talks of the world coming to the
end are misinterpretations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As
December approaches, one should be weary of the date December 21, 2012 or 12/21/12.
So far, this has significance as it is the alleged date of “doomsday” according
to the Mayan calendar. In short, we're supposed to be expecting the world to
come to an end on that date. However, the thought of the world ending, let
alone on that date, has been met with skepticism and rejection. Apparently, the
Mayans themselves don't believe that the world is coming to an end on that date.
The Mayans of Guatemala weighed in on the use of the Mayan calendar and had
their views on things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Mayans do not seem at all that pleased with how the Mayan Calendar and the
“Mayan doomsday” were interpreted. In fact, the Mayans have started speaking
out against it. They claim that the doomsday theory is just an effort to profit
off of inaccurate interpretations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Felipe
Gomez recently spoke with the French news outlet Agence France-Presse (AFP). He
is the leader of a group of Mayans called the Oxlaljuj. According to the group,
the doomsday talk is just an excuse to use misinterpretations as a means to
drive up tourism. In short, they called up for an end of the myth of doomsday. According
to them, the talk of doomsday was very disrespectful to the Mayan culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Instead
of having anger directed to the westerners, the Mayans are directing anger at
their own country's government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gomez
isn't the only Mayan speaking out against the misinterpretation of the calendar.
Christina Coc of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
who is of Mayan blood, dismisses the thought of the world ending on December 21.
Coc explained that this “doomsday” is actually an end of a 5,000 year cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
short, Mayans have given their two cents on the so called “end of the world.”
The answer is “not happening” which seems to be unanimous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Perhaps
the Mayans could link up with some other people and exhibits to help them
further debunk the myth. One example would be with the curators at the Houston
Museum of Natural Science. The museum is launching an exhibit to dispel the
doomsday myth. Another example would be the students studying at Rutgers-Camden
who have to study for their course in “The End of the World.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to one religion professor at the school, regardless of the possible apocalypse,
they still have to study for their final exams. The professor explains that
interest in thinking about the apocalypse has been within American pop culture
for a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Perhaps
December 21, 2012 isn't the end of the world. The Mayans have certainly weighed
in on the subject and strongly disagree that the world's going to end, let
alone on that date. For the students at Rutgers-Camden, they still have to
study for finals. Published under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

Mayans on '2012 Doomsday': Not happening at all

By Can Tran Ground Report --- As December 21, 2012 soon approaches; the Mayans have weighed in on the talks of "doomsd...

World Population Day

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0s091rsJxZCDmTKvvAoFiv2z1n8UUZ3qMLwfZ4RqrP45H_E5ZU96D5WwgpsURumai4NGEntQ2I6lYHfJhepJldNxiJ_kAeTv0wfNVWXzXh9McTRkWRC_4WOjO6pJWT8Cav5LOJDB3YI/s1600/2012071214490388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0s091rsJxZCDmTKvvAoFiv2z1n8UUZ3qMLwfZ4RqrP45H_E5ZU96D5WwgpsURumai4NGEntQ2I6lYHfJhepJldNxiJ_kAeTv0wfNVWXzXh9McTRkWRC_4WOjO6pJWT8Cav5LOJDB3YI/s1600/2012071214490388.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NNN--- A women passes by a banner outside U.N. Headquarters in New York, United States which says that” the world's population reached 7 billion”. With the world’s rising population hitting the historic seven billion milestone in October 2011, the United Nations predicted that population growth will continue to increase, reaching an estimated 9.3 billion by the year 2050. This year's World Population Day, 11 July 2012, focuses on the theme of “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services.” Reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death for women of childbearing age worldwide. Some 222 million women who would like to avoid or delay pregnancy lack access to effective family planning. Photo courtesy UN photo/ Rick Bajornas---NNN<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

World Population Day

NNN--- A women passes by a banner outside U.N. Headquarters in New York, United States which says that” the world's population reach...

UN highlights role of press freedom as catalyst for social and political change

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FKgkdCTvKQFFVfF_DRJNqPH0nC5BQNk8Ga0Td8G3Yek46x_D1eodAYaHj8N6pDMdVO_9hk0HVnFOke4zUrw1TRNen0MSU7C8EqoxTYjdZCrfmP09ObtydJMAwRiamP0YRx8DuNg7O6Q/s1600/world-press-day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FKgkdCTvKQFFVfF_DRJNqPH0nC5BQNk8Ga0Td8G3Yek46x_D1eodAYaHj8N6pDMdVO_9hk0HVnFOke4zUrw1TRNen0MSU7C8EqoxTYjdZCrfmP09ObtydJMAwRiamP0YRx8DuNg7O6Q/s320/world-press-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 13px;">World Press Freedom Day logo. Credit: UNESCO</span></div></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">UN News--- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>United Nations top officials today highlighted the power of press freedom to spark social and political change and to hold governments accountable, stressing that this vital right must be ensured across the world by creating the conditions that allow journalists to perform their work safely.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A free press gives people access to the information they need to make critical decisions about their lives. It holds leaders accountable, exposes corruption, and promotes transparency in decision-making,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message marking World Press Freedom Day, which falls on 3 May each year. “It raises awareness and offers an outlet for different voices, especially those that would otherwise go unheard.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In particular, Mr. Ban, along with the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, stressed the crucial role that both new and old forms of media have played over the past year in the Middle East and North African regions which have been at the centre of various civil movements.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The UN General Assembly designated 3 May as World Press Freedom Day in 1993. It aims to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. This year’s theme for World Press Freedom Day is ‘New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies.’<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Change in the Arab world has shown the power of aspirations for rights when combined with new and old media. Newfound media freedom is promising to transform societies through greater transparency and accountability.” Mr. Ban and Ms. Bokova said in a joint statement. “It is opening new ways to communicate and to share information and knowledge. Powerful new voices are rising – especially from young people – where they were silent before.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The President of the General Assembly, Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, underlined the importance of new technologies in empowering young people to express themselves, and added that governments should support, not censor these mediums.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Governments that try to suppress or shut-down new media platforms should rather embrace new media for the beneficial transformation of their societies. They need to create and promote a thriving environment for free media and free expression,” Mr. Al-Nasser said in remarks, delivered on his behalf at an event to mark the Day at UN Headquarters in New York this morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While new voices have come forward seeking transformational change, media freedom is facing severe pressures across the world, Mr. Ban, Ms. Bokova and Mr. Al-Nasser warned, adding that crimes against journalists should not remain unpunished.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">According to UNESCO, 62 journalists were killed last year and many more were injured. As of December 2011, 179 journalists were detained, indicating a 20 per cent increase from the previous year, and the highest level since the 1990s.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“These journalists must not be forgotten and these crimes should not remain unpunished,” Mr. Ban and Ms. Bokova said. “As media moves online, more online journalists, including bloggers, are being harassed, attacked, and killed for their work. They must receive the same protection as traditional media workers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">To mark the Day, UNESCO is organizing a series of events in Tunis, over three days, focussing on the role of media as a vehicle for social change. The events include an award ceremony for the winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, which this year will go to Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist Eynulla Fatullayev.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ms. Bokova and the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Hamed Jebali, will also open an international conference which will debate issues on contemporary media over the next two days. In addition, a series of side events will be held by UNESCO’s press freedom partners, which include non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, international media outlets and youth groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">World Press Freedom Day was also marked elsewhere in the UN system. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) organized a roundtable discussion in Kabul with senior Afghan journalists and others to discuss press freedom in Afghanistan; while similar discussions were held in Kunduz, Bamyan and Jalalabad – at the latter gathering, the journalists in attendance agreed on a joint document which urges officials to safeguard their safety, as outlined in the Afghan Constitution and international documents.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

UN highlights role of press freedom as catalyst for social and political change

World Press Freedom Day logo. Credit: UNESCO UN News--- United Nations top officials today highlighted the power of press freedom...

India: Government and World Bank Sign an Agreement to Improve Livelihoods for 300,000 Village Households

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Government and World Bank Sign an Agreement worth US $130 Million to Improve Livelihoods for 300,000 Village Households in North Eastern States</span></i></b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">NEW DELHI<span class="apple-style-span"> (PIB) --- </span>The Government of India and the World Bank today signed an IDA credit of US$ 130 million to finance the Government of India’s (GOI) efforts to empower rural communities in the growth-deficient North East (NE) region to improve their livelihood opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlxyv2LETn6mWhGsdaQKDr9AASQwOar-ZZjnUiPD1sSQ139XgMZcCA86MJ6jRfTYL9P7OmUV93I5AM_-aD4C287yTJcJA8C5EQNmuGdeRj-RLpMrL2aIHZxBQNxXy7o7_KML5inTpY9Y/s1600/l2012012038711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlxyv2LETn6mWhGsdaQKDr9AASQwOar-ZZjnUiPD1sSQ139XgMZcCA86MJ6jRfTYL9P7OmUV93I5AM_-aD4C287yTJcJA8C5EQNmuGdeRj-RLpMrL2aIHZxBQNxXy7o7_KML5inTpY9Y/s640/l2012012038711.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: '\'Trebuchet MS\''; font-size: 8pt;">The Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance,</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><u1:p></u1:p>  <div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: '\'Trebuchet MS\''; font-size: 8pt;">Venu Rajamony, the Project Director, D. L. Wankhar and the Country Director for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:place u2:st="on"><st1:country-region u2:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:place></st1:country-region>,</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><u1:p></u1:p>  <div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: '\'Trebuchet MS\''; font-size: 8pt;">World Bank, Mr. Roberto Zagha signed an US$ 130 Million Agreement to improve livelihoods</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><u1:p></u1:p>  <div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: '\'Trebuchet MS\''; font-size: 8pt;">for 300,000 village households in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:placename u2:st="on">North</st1:placename><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></st1:placename> </span><st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:placename u2:st="on">Eastern</st1:placename><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on"><st1:placetype u2:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:placetype>, in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:place u2:st="on"><st1:city u2:st="on">New Delhi</st1:city></st1:place></st1:place></st1:city><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>on January 20, 2012. Photo</i><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth and the severely disadvantaged in eight districts of the four participating states- Aizawl and Lunglei in Mizoram; Peren and Tuensang in Nagaland; South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District in Sikkim; and West and North Districts in Tripura.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Despite its rich natural resources and relatively good human development indicators, the North East (NE) region lags behind the rest of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> in important parameters of growth. Almost 35 percent of its predominantly rural population lives below the poverty line; agricultural productivity is low; and high school drop-out rates and lack of skills have led to high unemployment among the youth. This low-growth scenario is exacerbated by problems of geographical inaccessibility, protracted insurgency in some areas, and recurring natural disasters. Recognizing the urgent need to put economic growth on track in the NE, the Government of India developed the North Eastern Region (NER) Vision 2020, endorsed by all NE states. The Vision envisages using a partnership-approach with all relevant stakeholders to make interventions responsive to people’s needs and aspirations for a better quality of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The agreements for the North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) were signed by Shri Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Shri D. L. Wankhar, Project Director on behalf of the North East Rural Livelihoods Project; and Mr. Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The Project seeks to develop an institutional platform for the communities, which will help them link up with the private sector, public sector, and civil society and to acquire the institutional, technical, and financial capacity needed for improving their livelihoods. Global development experience shows that absolute poverty can be overcome by equipping a member of the household (especially a youth) with employable skills. A separate activity for skills development and job placement has thus been included in the project to ensure that such opportunities are available to the rural poor. Some livelihood opportunities envisaged under the Project include natural resource management activities such as forest management, non-timber forest produce storage and processing, horticulture, preservation of riverine fishes, water harvesting and recharging of ground/surface water in the villages; community-based infrastructure activities like upgrading of small agricultural link roads, micro hydro-power schemes, wind-cum-solar mills, to name a few. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The Project comprises four main components (i) Social Empowerment; (ii) Economic Empowerment; (iii) Partnership Development and (iv) Project Management. The first component seeks to help rural communities to create sustainable institutions so that they can manage common activities around microfinance, livelihoods and natural resource management. The second component will provide funds to the community institutions to undertake various livelihood activities, as well as provide self-entrepreneurship opportunities to unemployed youth. To enable this, the Project with help develop partnerships with various formal financial intermediaries - such as microfinance institutions, commercial banks, development financial institutions such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and specialized funding agencies such as North East Development Finance Institution (NEDFI) – and with the private sector and civil society to allow rural communities to access technical and marketing support. The project management component facilitates the implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, learning and quality enhancement efforts of the project. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, has a final maturity of 25 years, including 5 year grace period.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

India: Government and World Bank Sign an Agreement to Improve Livelihoods for 300,000 Village Households

Government and World Bank Sign an Agreement worth US $130 Million to Improve Livelihoods for 300,000 Village Households in North Eastern St...

United Nations Year in Review: Looking back at major events of 2011

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><object height="270" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/swfs/player.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="bgcolor" value="000000" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashvars" value="file=specialevents/2011/yir2011.flv&image=http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/12/full/2011.jpg&autostart=false&controlbar=over&start=0&duration=734&dock=true&stretching=uniform&streamer=rtmp://webcast-flash.un.org/ondemand/" /><embed src="http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/swfs/player.swf?file=specialevents/2011/yir2011.flv&image=http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/12/full/2011.jpg&autostart=false&controlbar=over&start=0&duration=734&dock=true&stretching=uniform&streamer=rtmp://webcast-flash.un.org/ondemand/" width="480" height="270" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"/></object><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">2011 -      Earth's 7 billionth resident was born into a world of contradiction and      change. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">There could      be enough for all, yet a billion people remain hungry. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Around the      world protestors fought for freedom and better opportunities. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">From      conflict in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> to      nuclear disaster in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>      and famine at the Horn of Africa - the UN provided relief and solutions. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">UN      Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared sustainable development and lifting      people out of poverty the main goals of his second term in office.---UN News<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul></div>

United Nations Year in Review: Looking back at major events of 2011

2011 - Earth's 7 billionth resident was born into a world of contradiction and change. There could be enough for ...

Predictions for 2012

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; text-align: justify;">By </span><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/multiplenews" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Multiple News</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; text-align: justify;">    </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/World/Predictions-for-2012/2943392"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">GroundReport</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> --After a year full of interesting news from around the world, what lies ahead in 2012? Multiple News correspondents make their predictions about the great stories and characters that have to pay attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<b>Economic Crisis<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
The future of the euro is a major concern of Western leaders.<br />
Mark Mardell, North American editor, believes that we are before a collision of tectonic plates. West 500 years ago began its economic domination, political and social world. The story from then on it was on the impact of this imbalance. In his opinion, that era is coming to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
Paul Mason, Newsnight's economic editor, create the most important issue is the crisis of the euro. Logic dictates that can only end one way: with the markets forced the European Central Bank to act as lender of last resort against their own rules and culture. Several key actors do not believe can be reached, but the markets because it is lean. The Eurozone is like Barack Obama said, "Scaring the world," but Mason believes the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> will also continue scaring their inability to establish a long-term budget.<br />
<br />
Owen Bennett- Jones Presenter says protests will increase political and economic elites who do not pay taxes. Claims that the so-called 1% receive less income and pay more taxes will find the most impact.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b>Syria</b></st1:country-region><br />
<br />
Lyse Doucet, World Affairs correspondent, said that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region> is moving towards a civil war. The confrontation was resolved but there will be many months of violence.<br />
<br />
Owen Bennett-Jones Bashar al-Assad believes that will remain in power, ignoring international condemnation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
James Robbins, Diplomatic correspondent, next year sees a decline and eventual fall of the Syrian leader as a result of the combination of external pressure, particularly from the Arab League, increasing economic difficulties and growing confidence of their opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b>Egypt</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><br />
<br />
Lyse Doucet believes that the presidential elections loosen the tensions between the military and <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Tahrir   Square</st1:address></st1:street>, but failed to end the conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b>Qatar</b></st1:country-region><br />
<br />
Popular protests continue in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place> despite the repression by the government of Bashar al-Assad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
Doucet believes that the prime minister of Qatar Jaber Al Thani, is emerging as a mediator of power in the Middle East, using its wealth from oil, to play a leading role in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region> and even in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<b>France</b><br />
<br />
James Robbins Francois believes that Holland, presidential candidate for the French Socialist Party, Nicolas Sarkozy will expire in the second round of voting will take place between April and May. He thinks he can be a campaign in which candidates promise more in terms of economic recovery and that detract from efforts to rescue the Eurozone. Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin both votes subtracted, adding risk to the race.<br />
<br />
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b>Pakistan</b></st1:country-region><br />
<br />
Lyse Doucet highlights the potential importance Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>'s army chief, in the management of relations with the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United   States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the weak civilian leaders of the country, and militant groups in substantiating the regional rivalry.<br />
<br />
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b>China</b></st1:country-region><br />
<br />
Mark Mardell mentioned Bo Xilai, secretary of the Communist Party of the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chongqing</st1:place></st1:city>. In his opinion, he hopes to be part of the handful of leaders from the Asian giant. He describes him as charismatic, flamboyant and politically populist. Maoists is resurrecting some traditions and asking that the working class get a bigger slice of the pie. Then there is Wang Yang, secretary of the Communist Party of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">province</st1:placetype>  of <st1:placename w:st="on">Guangdong</st1:placename></st1:place>, appearing as the champion of democracy and the middle class, who is also seeking a seat on the Politburo of the party. It will be a contest for the future direction of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<br />
<br />
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b>Israel</b></st1:country-region><br />
<br />
Owen Bennett-Jones Believes that greater freedom of expression in the Middle East coupled with the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> diplomatic weakness will cause the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, looks increasingly isolated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Marck Zuckerberg</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
The Facebook IPO has generated high expectations, both in the world of finance as in technology.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libya</span></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
Lyse Doucet believed to grow the concern about the tensions between militiants who refuse to disarm.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<b>International Geopolitics<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
Lyse Doucet believes that relations between <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> will go from crisis to crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
Owen Bennett-Jones For its part stands the figure of Hamza Bin Laden, Osama's son more committed to jihad. In your opinion will have a much more public profile in the coming year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<br />
<b>Technology</b><br />
<br />
Rory Cellan-Jones, Technology correspondent, says that the story that will arouse curiosity next year will be the long-awaited IPO of Facebook, valuing the social network around the $ 100 billion. On the other hand, considers the more important the extension of Internet access to the next billion global users. In addition, more adventure read the news release will probably be 5 or iPad iPhone 3. Cellan-Jones also highlights the task to be Tim Cook to succeed Steve Jobs at Apple.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Predictions for 2012

By Multiple News GroundReport --After a year full of interesting news from around the world, what lies ahead in 2012? Multiple New...

Obama, Putin top Forbes list of world’s most powerful people

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti)-U.S. President Barack Obama has topped Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people in 2011 with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin taking second.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In 2010, Putin was ranked number 4 on the Forbes list of most powerful people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Chinese President Hu Jintao closes the “top three," with German Chancellor Angela Merkel remaining the most powerful woman at No. 4 on the list, followed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Pope Benedict XVI, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and British Prime Minister David Cameron.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was ranked at 59.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">One of the most notorious criminals of the world, Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, also made the list and was rated in 55th place.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Obama, Putin top Forbes list of world’s most powerful people

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)-U.S. President Barack Obama has topped Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people in 2011 with Russian Prime M...

Richer countries have greater responsibility to restore financial stability – Ban

Richer countries have greater responsibility to restore financial stability – Ban

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that the world's major economies must shoulder greater resp...

Scores Arrested at 'Occupy' Protests in New York

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Clashes also take place in Rome<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Police in <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state> arrested more than 70 protesters Saturday, including dozens in <st1:place w:st="on">Times Square</st1:place>, as part of a month-long global demonstration against what protesters call corporate greed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Police in riot gear and others on horses tried to push protesters out of the square.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The protest was just one of several throughout the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> and across the world Saturday inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Filmmaker Michael Moore told VOA he took part in the Wall Street demonstration to show solidarity with the protesters making a statement against corporate <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, police fired tear gas and water cannons when a small number of the hundreds of protesters filling the streets broke away from the main group and began smashing windows and lighting fires. Police presence is heavy in the Italian capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>, scuffles broke out between police and protesters among the hundreds gathered near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St. Paul</st1:place></st1:city>'s Cathedral. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Demonstrations also took place in many other countries, including <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>, where members of the Group of 20 financial powers are meeting in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> to discuss the European economic crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many demonstrators are protesting inequality between the rich and poor, calling themselves "the 99 percent" in contrast to the "one percent" of people who they say account for most of the world's wealth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Other causes the protesters espouse include abolishing capitalism, lowering college tuition and ending the wars in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, small demonstrations were held Saturday that centered on ending the use of nuclear power.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Occupy Wall Street protest began on September 17 with a small group of activists accusing what they called "corporate <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>" of fostering a growing economic divide between the wealthy, and the poor and middle class.<span>  </span>The movement has gathered momentum despite criticism that it lacks a central focus. --- VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Scores Arrested at 'Occupy' Protests in New York

Clashes also take place in Rome Police in New York arrested more than 70 protesters Saturday, including dozens in Times Square , as part...

G20 Ministers Gather in Paris to Address World Economy

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Lisa Bryant from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading economies are in <st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city> Friday and Saturday to find ways to strengthen the world's ailing economy and staunch <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>'s financial crisis. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Europe received one piece of good news this week as <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Slovakia</st1:place></st1:country-region> became the last country to ratify expanding a key bailout fund for shaky economies in the 17-nation eurozone. Internal bickering within <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Slovakia</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s parliament derailed approval of the measure earlier this week. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The eurozone's financial crisis is expected to top the agenda of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> Friday and Saturday. They will be looking for ways to get the world's sluggish economic recovery back on track. And they will be pressing <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> for a faster appreciation of its currency.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">European leaders are pressured to come up with solutions quickly to their sovereign debt crisis that is threatening the stability of a number of banks and risks further slowing global recovery. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso outlined a five-point plan to address these problems. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We are really speaking seriously when we mention the need for more discipline, more integration. It means more <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> - I think that should be the goal of all of us," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The leaders of Europe's two biggest powerhouses, France and Germany, have also vowed to come up with a sustainable, long-term solution to the crisis before a key summit early next month of G20 leaders. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But so far, many experts have criticized European leaders for being slow to address an economic crisis that began with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region> and has spread to other shaky economies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even the expanded bailout fund is considered a stopgap solution. Not only must <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> curb its debt, says Philippe Moreau Defarges, an analyst for the French Institute of International Relations, but it must find ways of growing its economy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We could have a disaster," he said. "<st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> could have a disaster. It's clear that there will be new negotiations about a bigger European fund. It's clear the present European fund will not be enough. They will need more money. And maybe a kind of eurobond."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Moreau Defarges believes that over time, a number of European countries may not be able to pay back their debt. Not just <st1:country-region w:st="on">Greece</st1:country-region>, but also <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region> - Europe's third largest economy - and possibly even <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The week is ending with more bad news for Europe, as Standard & Poors downgraded <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s long-term credit rating. And top European economic institutes predicted a major slowdown in the growth of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>, <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>'s largest economy. ---VOA News</span></span></div></div>

G20 Ministers Gather in Paris to Address World Economy

By Lisa Bryant from Paris Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading economies are in Paris Friday and Saturday ...

Obama Salutes New Nobel Laureates

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By Kent Klein from White House<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfN54PL1PW1ydQAh-lADkEqDRCrbZGzbMmFaM9qDFaau61hQEaDqEm1BWdPt0XWjpBL3KsGvuo1trrtnEzV7B0axPO9FPPU0K8WxkMoUUJ5zphEbMi0Mz2bS-ORw8LF-5RlV9BuXvCjFU/s1600/obama_29UJul11-resized-white+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfN54PL1PW1ydQAh-lADkEqDRCrbZGzbMmFaM9qDFaau61hQEaDqEm1BWdPt0XWjpBL3KsGvuo1trrtnEzV7B0axPO9FPPU0K8WxkMoUUJ5zphEbMi0Mz2bS-ORw8LF-5RlV9BuXvCjFU/s1600/obama_29UJul11-resized-white+house.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US President- VOA News Photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">President Barack Obama has paid tribute to the three winners of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. The president said this year’s award is a testament to the power of women. He also said he admires the determination and spirit of the newest group of Nobel laureates.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The president, who won the 2009 Peace Prize, saluted this year’s winners, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Yemeni women’s rights activist Tawakkul Karman.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“When we empower women around the world, then everyone is better off. Countries and cultures that respect the contributions of women inevitably end up being more successful than those that do not,” said the president.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Obama met with President Sirleaf at the White House in May.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Meanwhile, the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> State Department renewed its call for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> to free last year’s Peace Prize winner, jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></div>

Obama Salutes New Nobel Laureates

By Kent Klein from White House US President- VOA News Photo President Barack Obama has paid tribute to the three winners of the 2011 No...

Lamers: It is important to keep NATO troops in Kosovo in order to maintain region stability

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXW0IWB19-Z4evI6gearXXiZmEnavLAzOHe6l_LGntgE74i2Uydl-JolMWZaN0eJKz4DZnMAcn0vu0sG6W06Ji6b1SnpMUE-Xm-f3QQzPZM0QgH8ITFMO85Uzl6U-33aXtrTI8ZDjyFhI/s1600/lamers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXW0IWB19-Z4evI6gearXXiZmEnavLAzOHe6l_LGntgE74i2Uydl-JolMWZaN0eJKz4DZnMAcn0vu0sG6W06Ji6b1SnpMUE-Xm-f3QQzPZM0QgH8ITFMO85Uzl6U-33aXtrTI8ZDjyFhI/s1600/lamers.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It is important to keep NATO troops in Kosovo in order to maintain stability in the region, even if it entails staying longer there, NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Karl Lamers said at the end of a meeting with Romanian Senate President Mircea Geoana here on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
When asked at a press briefing after the meeting about NATO's keeping its troops in Kosovo longer, Lamers stressed the original plan should be reviewed amid the events in the last weeks.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
What happened in the last weeks should be a reason to rethink our plans of withdrawing the troops very fast. There was a concrete plan, but I think it is more important for us to stay so as to keep the stability in the region. We must do this, even if it means keeping our troops in Kosovo longer, the NATO senior official said.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
Lamers underscored that stability in this part of the world is more important than fulfilling a plan made before a resurgence of violence.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
Therefore, we must rethink our plan, to see what needs to be done so that violence should not surge in this part of the world. We must rethink the situation and I think we must do what is necessary to be done in order to keep stability here, he said.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
The Romanian Senate President said the Kosovo issue will be also tackled during the bilateral meetings that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will have with Romanian President Traian Basescu and with the Romanian Parliament leading officials.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
'This topic will be discussed in a direct manner on Monday', Geoana stressed. AGERPRES<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Lamers: It is important to keep NATO troops in Kosovo in order to maintain region stability

It is important to keep NATO troops in Kosovo in order to maintain stability in the region, even if it entails staying longer there, NATO ...

Apple's Key to Success: Turning Tech into Lifestyle

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Elizabeth Lee from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">From communications to entertainment, Apple products have profoundly changed the way people around the world obtain information and use technology.<span>  </span>The man that led Apple through its evolution was Steve Jobs.<span>  </span>Apple has been so successful in selling its products.<span>  </span>What consumers can expect now that Jobs has died?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">University student Jill Lenahan can be described as a diehard fan of anything created by Apple. Lenahan says her experience with other types of computers just wasn't the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I used to have a PC it would crash all the time and it was really slow and I got a Mac everything was so much easier," said Lenahan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Lenahan says her iPhone has made her life more efficient.<span>  </span>But Apple did not create smart phones, mp3 players, or tablet computers.<span>  </span>Andrew Lih with the <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Southern California</st1:placename>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Annenberg</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place> for Communication and Journalism says Apple has made high tech devices more understandable to everyday users who are not tech savvy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I think that Apple really has pioneered the acceptance of those types of technologies - MP3s, downloadable movies, tablet computing - into the mainstream," said Lih.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">It's Apple's ability to design user friendly and attractive products makes many consumers around the world choose Apple over other brands.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"And that's the beauty of apple products I think and that's why consumers love them is that they are transparently beautiful," Lih added.<span>  </span>"You don't have to learn to use them. You pick it up and it seems natural, but just imagine all the man hours and the work that it takes to get to that point and most companies cannot replicate that either work ethic philosophy or final product." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Lih calls Apple's many easy to use devices "lifestyle products." He says the company's legacy of making consumer friendly products started when Apple was first established in the 1970s.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"In the 70s when Apple first came around, their real breakthrough was bringing the personal computer into your home at a price that was fairly reasonable," Lih added.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">These days, Apple's products are actually more expensive than many of its competitors, but Apple is good at convincing consumers to buy says telecommunications analyst Elizabeth Fife.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Apple is unique in being able to brand and create excitement around their products, not only for the handsets, for the iPhones, but for the laptops, iPads and other products that they've released to.<span>  </span>So this is just something they're very good at," added <st1:place w:st="on">Fife</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even with the death of Steve Jobs, many analysts expect Apple to continue its legacy of introducing products consumers will want for the next three to five years.---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Apple's Key to Success: Turning Tech into Lifestyle

By Elizabeth Lee from Los Angeles From communications to entertainment, Apple products have profoundly changed the way people around th...

UN study shows murder rates highest in parts of Americas and Africa

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINOxRSZZniOVo_cW8cs8n4l9Tj28-0KXJEj4XmS2YruMAZ064VWgr5e7nKX1uAeyFCZXfqWsBWba7TZ0PsYFwDa5HCN0r_IV8Am2OWxPfomBCfJMR2onobeWc3U6ZHWEipn4ubnCWgts/s1600/crimescene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINOxRSZZniOVo_cW8cs8n4l9Tj28-0KXJEj4XmS2YruMAZ064VWgr5e7nKX1uAeyFCZXfqWsBWba7TZ0PsYFwDa5HCN0r_IV8Am2OWxPfomBCfJMR2onobeWc3U6ZHWEipn4ubnCWgts/s1600/crimescene.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">Forensic police officers examine<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">evidence collected at a crime scene UN News Photo</span></i></div></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Young men in Central and South America and Southern and Central Africa are most at risk of being killed in cases of homicide, while women face an increased likelihood of being murdered in domestic violence, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report unveiled today.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Evidence points to rising homicide rates in Central America and the Caribbean, which are “near crisis point,” according to UNODC’s Global Study on Homicide, which blames firearms for the rising murder rates in those two regions, where almost three quarters of all homicides are committed with guns, compared to 21 per cent in Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Men face a much higher risk of violent death (11.9 per 100,000) than women (2.6 per 100,000), although there are variations between countries and regions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The results of the report show the importance of the UN firearm protocol and the importance for countries to ratify and adopt the protocol to try to control the use of firearms, and their use in fuelling street crime.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It also highlights the importance of preventive measures and in the case of women, of measures to protect them from domestic crime.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In countries with high murder rates, especially involving firearms, such as in Central America, one in 50 males aged 20 will be killed before they reach the age of 31 – several hundred times higher than in some parts of Asia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Worldwide, 468,000 homicides occurred last year. Some 36 per cent of all homicides take place in Africa, 31 per cent in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Americas</st1:country-region>, 27 per cent in Asia, 5 per cent in Europe, and 1 per cent in <st1:place w:st="on">Oceania</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Countries with wide income disparities are four times more likely to be afflicted by violent crime than more equitable societies. Conversely, economic growth seems to stem that tide, as the past 15 years in <st1:place w:st="on">South America</st1:place> have shown.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Chronic crime is both a major cause and result of poverty, insecurity and under-development, the study points out. Crime drives away business, erodes human capital and destabilizes society.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“To achieve the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], crime prevention policies should be combined with economic and social development and democratic governance based on the rule of law,” said Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sudden dips in the economy can drive up homicide rates. In selected countries, more murders occurred during the financial crisis of 2008-09, coinciding with declining gross domestic product (GDP), higher consumer price index and more unemployment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Last year, 42 per cent of homicides were committed with firearms – 74 per cent of them in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Americas</st1:country-region> and 21 per cent in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. Gun crime is driving violent crime in Central America and the <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> – the only region where the evidence points to rising homicide rates.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It is crucial that measures to prevent crime should include policies towards the ratification and implementation of the Firearms Protocol,” said Mr. Fedotov. He stressed that although 89 States are parties to the Protocol, which supplements the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, many more countries could accede to that legal instrument.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Organized crime – especially drug trafficking – accounted for a quarter of deaths caused by firearms in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Americas</st1:country-region>, compared to only 5 per cent of homicides in Asia and <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. That does not mean, however, that organized crime groups are not active in those two regions, but rather that they may be operating in ways that do not employ lethal violence to the same extent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Crime and violence are also strongly associated with large youthful populations, especially in developing countries. While 6.9 persons per 100,000 are killed each year globally, the rate for young male victims is three times higher (21.1 per 100,000). Young men are more likely to own weapons and engage in street crime, take part in gang warfare and commit drug-related offences, according to the study.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Globally, some 80 per cent of homicide victims and perpetrators are men. But, whereas men are more likely to be killed in a public places, women are mainly murdered at home, as in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> where half of all female victims were killed by a family member. In <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>, women comprised almost 80 per cent of all people killed by a current or former partner in 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The results of the report show the importance of the UN firearm protocol and the importance for countries to ratify and adopt the protocol to try to control the use of firearms, and their use in fuelling street crime,” said Angela Me, chief of the statistics and surveys section at UNODC.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It also highlights the importance of preventive measures and in the case of women, legal measures to protect them from domestic crime,” she told UN Radio.---UN News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

UN study shows murder rates highest in parts of Americas and Africa

Forensic police officers examine evidence collected at a crime scene UN News Photo Young men in Central and South America and Souther...

Scoring a try against hunger: Rugby World Cup takes UN message to billions

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0IFMVFalPlDfcivF3IubHMP0dvjOqcl7M25CGQEZ70AtwDF1kDxXqj3dKWFjgDKIK_ZE9HiZIN3fAF8uF8Gucrl1iOaR1PFS-IQ6uewN8okeJ-yIFNheT-n3WOjGj5_HryLqrvVjexY/s1600/Ban+Ki-moon+displays+his+commemorative+jersey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0IFMVFalPlDfcivF3IubHMP0dvjOqcl7M25CGQEZ70AtwDF1kDxXqj3dKWFjgDKIK_ZE9HiZIN3fAF8uF8Gucrl1iOaR1PFS-IQ6uewN8okeJ-yIFNheT-n3WOjGj5_HryLqrvVjexY/s1600/Ban+Ki-moon+displays+his+commemorative+jersey.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon displays<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">his commemorative jersey at the<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">launch of the 2011 <st1:place w:st="on">Rugby</st1:place> World Cup<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;"><br />
</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;"><br />
</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;"><br />
</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">From the scrums on the fields of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New   Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the current Rugby World Cup is taking the United Nations fight against global hunger, and its fundraising appeal, to a potential audience of 4 billion people in the latest partnership between the world of sport and UN agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Via a combination of in-stadium visibility with advertising boards, programme advertisements and public service videos shown in stadia, at Cup “fanzones,” online and via tournament broadcasters, the Tackle Hunger campaign, first launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2003, for the first time directs viewers to a secure donations page on WFP’s website.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“People think that solving hunger is an insurmountable task, but every time someone learns about WFP, visits the IRB or WFP sites, donates to help feed a hungry school child, we are building a momentum to defeat hunger, end malnutrition and help save a generation of young people that otherwise might be doomed to a diminished tomorrow,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Defeating hunger, estimated to afflict more than 1 billion people, is the first of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seek to slash hunger and poverty, maternal and infant mortality, a host of diseases and lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015, and IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset voiced his organization’s pride in the partnership with WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The Tackle Hunger campaign, with the support of rugby fans around the world, can contribute in some way to alleviating the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves and have a real and positive impact on the lives of so many where hunger is present,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The campaign is also using a variety of social media platforms to connect directly with rugby fans across the world, and a recent news release on WFP’s response to the devastating famine in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the rest of the Horn of Africa was sent to more than 1.2 million Rugby World Cup Facebook followers and 46,000 followers on Twitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:place w:st="on">Rugby</st1:place> World Cup – which concludes on 23 October – is the third biggest global sporting event after the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup, and a television audience estimated at 4 billion people is expected to tune in during the course of the tournament.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In May, the tournament’s Webb-Ellis Cup trophy was displayed at UN Headquarters in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> at a ceremony attended by diplomatic representatives of the 20 participating teams. “For seven years, through the Tackle Hunger programme, you have raised awareness and funds that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said then.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Launched at the 2003 event in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region> and continued at the next tournament in 2007 in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Tackle Hunger sprang from IRB’s desire to meet its social responsibilities and help the UN achieve the MDGs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The campaign is but one in a whole series of collaborations between UN agencies and world sport, which has seen the likes of football legends Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane scoring goals against poverty, the European Swimming League in “a race against time” to prevent deaths from unclean water and the Cricket World Cup batting for the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the battle against HIV/AIDS.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Similar initiatives have involved <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United   States</st1:place></st1:country-region> football stars, marathon runners and drivers from Formula One car racing.---UN News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Scoring a try against hunger: Rugby World Cup takes UN message to billions

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon displays his commemorative jersey at the launch of the 2011 Rugby World Cup From the scrums on t...

UN hails awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to three women’s activists

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9BlehY1YDHG2F5kX8goj24yt9h4zpj6FodbgsW2k2YC8_w9wpEg8PWUho96ssn-7VK9RsQiiZT3Qz4B1LC5pIi-TurjUPXSjWoLOuMw6QF4O__u28o7UI2Iv2PycTk6m9XV4dc6nJwM/s1600/liberian+prez+unphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9BlehY1YDHG2F5kX8goj24yt9h4zpj6FodbgsW2k2YC8_w9wpEg8PWUho96ssn-7VK9RsQiiZT3Qz4B1LC5pIi-TurjUPXSjWoLOuMw6QF4O__u28o7UI2Iv2PycTk6m9XV4dc6nJwM/s1600/liberian+prez+unphoto.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Liberia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, speaks at <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">an event on Peace and Security through Women's <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Leadership at UN Headquarters in 2009 Photo: UN News<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today hailed the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to three women’s activists, describing it as “a testament to the power of women’s leadership.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female elected head of State; Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist; and Tawakkul Karman, a pro-democracy activist from Yemen are the joint winners of this year’s prize.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Nobel judges, announcing the decision today, cited their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peacebuilding work.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Speaking in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>, Mr. Ban said the award could not have been better chosen.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It underscores the vital role that women play in the advancement of peace and security, development and human rights,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I myself have met women who have been the victims of sexual violence. I have seen for myself women’s leadership power in building and sustaining peace. And I have heard the voices of women calling for justice and democracy in the Middle East, <st1:place w:st="on">North Africa</st1:place> and beyond.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Describing the winners as “three inspirational women of courage and vision and commitment,” the Secretary-General said advancing the cause of women will be one of his top priorities during his second term in office.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia (UNMIL) also welcomed today’s announcement and offered its congratulations to the three winners.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ms. Johnson Sirleaf is running for re-election as her country’s President, with the polls set to take place on Tuesday, and in a statement UNMIL stressed that “the elections are for the Liberian people to decide at the ballot box.”---UN News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

UN hails awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to three women’s activists

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia , speaks at an event on Peace and Security through Women's Leadership at UN Headquarters i...

NATO Parliamentary Assembly 57th Annual Session to start on Friday in Bucharest

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ToxV77DnJzv5rUvibpwTJqLvvU3M2N0kUYCVT0gEiq2SBtK40JDxdJ97XnkpyS2cmo0mNqnGT28OTDGrdHRqi0hvpzeLs2xx7r4uIjWFmn42VAyOsAePk7lgqofmCSxOjMGgT8Astk/s1600/natoassembly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ToxV77DnJzv5rUvibpwTJqLvvU3M2N0kUYCVT0gEiq2SBtK40JDxdJ97XnkpyS2cmo0mNqnGT28OTDGrdHRqi0hvpzeLs2xx7r4uIjWFmn42VAyOsAePk7lgqofmCSxOjMGgT8Astk/s1600/natoassembly.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Barbu mentioned that there have been no special requests from delegates and the equipping and other request were agreed upon with the Secretariat of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. AGERPRES</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Expected to attend the event, which lasts throughout October 10, are over 400 delegates and hundreds of journalists.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For the event, special security measures are being taken specific of parliamentary sessions, with special measures to be taken to secure the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Henri</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Coanda</st1:placename>  <st1:placename w:st="on">International</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Airport</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the routes traveled by the officials, the accommodation places for the participants and the areas where official events related to the main event area held. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The terrorist threat level was kept at Cautious for October 7-10, 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The delegates to attend the NATO Parliamentary Assembly session will be extended a reception party at the National Opera House in <st1:city w:st="on">Bucharest</st1:city>, where a drama show called 'Don Quijote - Made in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Romania</st1:place></st1:country-region>' (A Romanian Don Quixote) starring Dan Puric will be amounted, according to the show organisers. Secretary General of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies Gheorghe Barbu says invited to attend the reception party organised by the Romanian Senate are also members of the Standing Bureau and leaders of the MP groups in the Romanian Parliament and other personalities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Saturday, the Chamber of Deputies will be extending two dinner parties, one for the heads of the delegations attending the NATO Parliamentary Assembly session and the other for the secretaries of the same delegations. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The people accompanying the delegates will be devised a special schedule with events at the Sinaia mountain resort, care of the Romanian Senate. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Chamber of Deputies Secretary General Barbu last week unveiled some details of the event and presented some investment figures. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For this NATO event, the Romanian Government issued a decision this May under which it provided additional funds of RON 11.037 million for the Senate and additional funds of RON 12.086 million for the Chamber of Deputies. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Chamber of Deputies' plenary session hall was equipped with special clocks, microphones for each seat in the hall and a computer-controlled lighting system. The attendees will have access to the Internet at three Internet cafes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The 57th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will start on Friday, October 7, in <st1:city w:st="on">Bucharest</st1:city> at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Parliament</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Palace</st1:placetype></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

NATO Parliamentary Assembly 57th Annual Session to start on Friday in Bucharest

Barbu mentioned that there have been no special requests from delegates and the equipping and other request were agreed upon with the Secre...