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Jordan signs 4 financing agreements with EU, Germany

By
Juan Sanchez Gil
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Jordan signs 4 financing agreements with EU, Germany

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Wissam Rabadi has signed four financing agreements in the water and education sectors in the presence of Sawsan Aruri, deputy director of the German Development Bank (KfW).

The first agreement is an additional European Union (EU) grant funding for a programme in the education sector amounting to 6 million euros, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

Three additional grant financing agreements for feasibility studies and a training component have also been signed in the water sector for  “Environmental and climate friendly sewage sludge disposal”, “Climate Protection Water Sector V” and “Energy Efficiency in the Water Sector II” amounting to a total of 2.2 million euros, the statement said.

The European Union will grant an additional 6 million euros for the implementation of an ongoing school construction programme in Jordan that was signed in 2018 with a total amount of 33 million euros. 

The objective of the school construction programme financed by the European Union is to assist the government of Jordan in responding to the needs of children and youth impacted by the Syrian crisis. 

This includes increased access to inclusive and child-friendly quality primary and secondary education for both, refugee and host community children. 

The EU-financed school construction programme, primarily channelled through the EU’s Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis, the Madad Fund, will be implemented in parallel to a bilateral school construction programme financed by the German government amounting to 34 million euros that was signed last month.

The German government has made funds available for feasibility studies for the preparation of new projects in the water sector. 

The first agreement is signed for a study of “Environmental and climate friendly sewage sludge disposal” amounting to 700,000 euros. 

The study aims to identify and elaborate concepts for the safe, environmentally sound and climate-friendly final disposal of sewage sludge originating from the wastewater treatment plants — mainly in northern Jordan — including domestic faecal sludge delivered by tankers, the statement said.

The second agreement that is also financed by the government of Germany shall finance a study for a project under “Climate Protection in the Water Sector V” and amounts to 795,000 euros. 

The envisaged project to be studied aims at mitigating climate change risks related to water in the Jordan Valley. 

In particular, the study shall analyse the potential for water loss reduction at the King Abdullah Canal (KAC) with the aim to identify and compare suitable alternatives to reduce the water losses in the KAC by means of a multicriteria analysis in the most sustainable and efficient manner. With support of the potential project a substantial amount of fresh water shall be saved for the use of drinking purposes, read the statement.

The third agreement financed by the German government through KfW German Development Bank amounts to 700,000 euros and shall complement the project “Energy Efficiency in the Water Sector II — with training measures to support operational staff in the water sector in the field of energy efficiency and sustainable operations.  

The school construction programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Works and Housing and is financed by the European Union.

The water sector programmes will be implemented by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and is financed by the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW Development Bank. 

KfW finances investments and advisory services on behalf of the German government. In Jordan the ongoing and envisaged projects with a main focus on education, employment promotion as well as water and sanitation amount to about 1.3 billion euros, the statement said.

Since its establishment in December 2014, an increasing share of the EU’s non-humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees and their host countries is provided through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the Madad Fund. With contributions and pledges from 22 EU member states and Turkey, the fund has reached a total volume of 1.5 billion euros to date.

Large programmes focusing on education, livelihoods, health, socio-economic support, water and wastewater infrastructure — benefitting both refugees and their host communities — have already been approved by the fund’s board, for a total of more than 1.4 billion euros. 

Of this, about 1 billion euros have been contracted in over 50 projects to the Trust Fund’s implementing partners on the ground, now reaching more than 2 million beneficiaries, concluded the statement.

Stranded: Banksy’s Migrant ‘Rescue’ Boat Demands Help From EU

By
Juan Sanchez Gil
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0
Stranded: Banksy's Migrant 'Rescue' Boat Demands Help From EU

A migrant transport funded by the so-called street artist Banksy demanded help after overloading the vessel with more than 200 people picked up off the coast of Africa.

Crew on the Louise Michel, which is painted pink and named after a French anarchist, sent out tweets on Friday night and Saturday calling for “immediate assistance” from authorities in Malta, Italy, and Germany — but seemingly not any of the safe North African countries nearby — and denounced the EU’s supposed ‘Fortress Europe’ migration policy.

“#LouiseMichel is unable to move, she is no longer the master of her manoeuvre, due to her overcrowded deck and a liferaft deployed at her side, but above all due to Europe ignoring our emergency calls for immediate assistance,” activists on the boat tweeted Saturday.

The message followed a series of tweets in which the crew informed followers of their attempts to contact relevant authorities in EU countries, as well as a post proclaiming that the vessel “exists because current European policy is to deliberately ignore distress calls and let people drown”.

Despite Banksy being worth an estimated £38 million (50 million USD), according to reports, the crew made it clear that they expect taxpayers to foot the bill for housing and feeding the migrants in their homelands, with the artist merely funding their transportation to Europe.

The crew tweeted: “States are relying on civilians to prevent mass loss of life in the Med. Now we rely on them to give the survivors a Place of Safety — and we need it now!”

Known as a “street artist”, Banksy published a video explaining that he decided to buy a French navy vessel and turn it into a migrant transport because “All Black Lives Matter”, denouncing EU countries for allegedly “deliberately ignor[ing] distress calls from ‘non-Europeans’”.

On Saturday morning the crew repeated its calls for help, posting to Twitter that the Louise Michel, which has a maximum capacity of 130 passengers, “is unable to safely move and nobody is coming to our aid”.

Open borders activist Claire Faggianelli, who prepared the boat for its maiden mission, saw the project as a “wake-up call for Europe”, according to the left-wing Guardian.

“We really want to try to awaken the consciousness of Europe and say: ‘Look, we have been yelling at you for years now. There is something that shouldn’t be happening at the very borders of Europe, and you close your eyes to it. Wake up!’” she said.

Banksy’s ship has now been evacuated by the Italian authorities and the Sea-Watch 4 migrant transport operated by pro-migration NGOs.

Previously, Breitbart London reported how 70 per cent of migrants who seek to cross the Mediterranean to Europe are not eligible for asylum, according to a United Nations (UN) estimate.

NGOs and campaigners claim that opening Europe’s borders to everyone in the world who wants to come and live a taxpayer-funded lifestyle is the only way to stop people from drowning.

However, figures showed a major drop in the number of deaths at sea when Italy’s previous populist interior minister, Matteo Salvini, cracked down on the activities of NGO boats picking people up in Africa — because fewer migrants set out on the dangerous journey in the first place.

Follow Breitbart London on Facebook: Breitbart London

China’s Wang Wants EU Deal on Investments by End Year: Echos

By
Juan Sanchez Gil
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0
China’s Wang Wants EU Deal on Investments by End Year: Echos

… advocating for China and the European Union to reach a deal on … the investment deal with the EU revolve around access to the …

China’s top diplomat dismisses European rights concerns

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Newsdesk
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China’s top diplomat dismisses European rights concerns

PARIS (AP) — In a story published August 30, 2020, The Associated Press reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended detention camps for mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region, brushing off human rights concerns by European countries. The story should have made clear that he did not refer to the camps as “reeducation centers.”

Copyright © 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

UN agencies appeal for the disembarkation of migrants on rescue ships – Vatican News

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officialinstitutions
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UN agencies appeal for the disembarkation of migrants on rescue ships - Vatican News

By Susy Hodges

The two UN agencies said they were deeply concerned about the continued absence of dedicated EU-led search and rescue capacity in the Central Mediterranean.

Italy’s coastguard on Saturday evacuated 49 people from an overloaded rescue vessel named Louise Michel that is funded by the British artist Banksy. Those evacuated included 32 women and 13 children.

The crew of Louise Michel had earlier issued a series of tweets calling for immediate assistance from the authorities in Italy, Malta and Germany. They said they were stranded and overloaded with 219 migrants picked up off the coast of Libya over the previous 2 days.  

One tweet said the boat was unable to move due to her overcrowded deck and were also carrying the body of a migrant who had died earlier.

The crew accused the European authorities of not responding adequately to their appeals for help.

Shortly after the evacuation of the most vulnerable migrants, another rescue boat, Sea Watch 4, took the remainder of the Louise Michel’s 150 migrants on board. It said it was now carrying a total of 350 people who needed to disembark as soon as possible.

A third boat also needs assistance. A group of 27 migrants and refugees, including a pregnant woman and children from Libya, have been aboard the commercial tanker Maersk Etienne since their rescue on August the 5th.

The two UN agencies said the lack of a deal on a regional landing system could not be an excuse to deny vulnerable people safe harbour and stressed the humanitarian imperative of saving lives should not be penalized or stigmatized.

The Louise Michel rescue boat funded by Banksy only started operating last week in the Mediterranean. The artist posted a video on his official Instagram page saying he had bought the Louise Michel because, he claimed, the EU authorities deliberately ignore distress calls from non-Europeans.

Italy is the destination of most migrants who embark on the often dangerous journey of crossing the Mediterranean from the coast of Libya in recent years.

According to UN data, 443 people have died or have gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2020.  In a speech to the European parliament in 2014, Pope Francis urged leaders not to allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery for those migrants risking their lives trying to reach the continent.

EU hope for dialogue as Mediterranean energy dispute continues – Vatican News

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officialinstitutions
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0

By Nathan Morley

This long-running dispute between Greece and Turkey, which are both NATO members, shows no sign of abating.

Tensions have heated up as Turkish crews search for gas in the waters off Greek islands in the eastern Mediterranean. The Turkish research vessel “Oruc Reis” is probing for deposits south of the Turkish coast in waters which Athens claims jurisdiction.

To add muscle to their prospecting endeavours, the Turkish energy ship has been shadowed by powerful naval vessels.

Ankara argues that the area is part of its continental shelf. To make matters worse, Greece has complained of Turkish Air Force jets making an incursion into its airspace.

There is a similar conflict playing-out near Cyprus, an island where rich natural gas reserves have already been discovered.

Call for calm


In an effort to calm nerves, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has warned that any small spark ‘could lead to catastrophe.’

Germany has been trying to mediate in the dispute for weeks with Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking on the phone several times with Turkish President Tayipp Erdogan and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

For its part, the European Union has called on Turkey to immediately halt energy exploration in the disputed waters, dangling the threat of new sanctions if tensions don’t simmer down.

Last week, the Greek Foreign Minister endorsed that call for sanctions against Turkey by the EU – of which Greece is a member. He said Turkey represented a ‘neo-Ottoman ideology’ and was attempting ‘unlimited expansionism’ in the eastern Mediterranean.

However, despite the calls for calm, there seems to be no sign of tensions calming. As it stands, both Greece and Turkey are ratcheting up the tension by staging large naval drills.

Military drills

Turkey said it would carry out live-fire military exercises until mid-September in a zone off the southern Turkish town of Anamur, just north of Cyprus. This comes in addition to a bulletin that Ankara would also hold military exercises in a zone further east.

The European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Brussels was determined to show solidarity with Greece and Cyprus.

“We must walk a fine line between preserving a true space for dialogue and, at the same time, showing collective strength in the defence of our common interests,” he told reporters.

The heads of European states will discuss fraught relations with Ankara in an upcoming summit next month.

Waha Capital launches income generating Islamic…

By
Newsdesk
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0
Waha Capital launches income generating Islamic...

Abu Dhabi-listed investment firm Waha Capital has launched an income-focused Islamic fund to attract over $500 million (Dh1.83 billion) to invest in Shariah-compliant assets across sukuk and equity markets which will have a global outreach for investments.

The open-ended “Waha Islamic Income Fund SP” adds to Waha Capital’s existing three funds and is targeted at large regional institutions.

Its Waha Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa Credit Fund has achieved a cumulative return of over 180 per cent since its inception in 2012 and the end of 2019. The Waha Mena Equity Fund, launched in 2014, has achieved a cumulative return of 175 per cent since inception while Waha’s Mena Value Fund SP fund produced a return of 25.34 per cent in 2019 and overall by 56.1 per cent since its launch in 2015.

Amr Al Menhali, CEO of Waha Capital, said the new fund will invest in entities that have relatively low gearing.

“While our existing funds have some Shariah-compliant elements in them, there has been a steadily growing demand from our existing clients over the past couple of years for us to develop such a fully-fledged Islamic fund. We are confident that the new fund will be well received because it avoids investment in prohibited or controversial activities or assets and business sectors that may be considered as particularly risky or potentially volatile,” said Al Menhali.

On August 22, Waha Capital invested Dh184 million ($50 million) in New York-listed company online travel firm Despegar.com. It plans to invest $150 million in US-listed companies.

Waha Capital posted net profit of Dh267.2 million in Q2 2020 as compared to net loss of Dh124.4 million in Q2 2019 as total impairments fell from Dh109.3 million to Dh10 million. Its share price increased 0.51 per cent to Dh0.990 on Sunday on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. – [email protected]

Iran lambastes US, EU for sheltering MEK terrorists

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Newsdesk
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0
Iran lambastes US, EU for sheltering MEK terrorists

“Aug. 29, the National Day of Fight Against Terrorism, is the time to remember Prz Rajai & PM Bahonar who, 39yrs ago today, were martyred in a bombing by the MEK terrorist group,” the ministry tweeted.

“Despite assassinating 1000s Iranians & fighting alongside Saddam, MEK is sheltered by the U.S. & EU.”

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== Iran lambastes US, EU for sheltering MEK terrorists

The tweet comes on the occasion of the 1981 assassination of then-president Mohammad Ali Rajaei and prime minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar.

The two and several other officials had convened at the Tehran office of the Iranian prime minister in a meeting of Iran’s Supreme Defense Council when a bomb explosion ripped through the building. Survivors recounted that an aide, identified as Massoud Kashmiri, had brought a briefcase into the conference room and then left. It was revealed later that he was an MEK operative, who had infiltrated the then-prime minister’s office disguised as a state security official, according to Press TV.

The MEK terrorist group has conducted numerous assassinations and bombings against Iranian statesmen and civilians since the 1979 victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Its members fled Iran in 1986 for Iraq, where they enjoyed Saddam’s backing. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist assaults since the Revolution, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MEK’s acts of terror.

A few years ago, MEK elements were relocated from their Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s Diyala Province to Camp Hurriyet (Camp Liberty), a former US military base in Baghdad, and later sent to Albania.

MEK terrorists enjoy freedom of activity in the US and Europe and even hold meetings with American and EU officials.

MNA/5004451

Europe’s Most-Enduring Leader Faces Biggest Test in Balkan Vote

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Newsdesk
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0
Europe’s Most-Enduring Leader Faces Biggest Test in Balkan Vote

… three decades of dominance by Europe’s most enduring leader.
President … parties vying to join the European Union to euroskeptics and pro … elections.
Read More: Why EU’s Balkan Expansion Faces Long … approval of a law on religious groups that may strip the …

‘Wisdom’ of Guatemala’s indigenous people needed for sustainable development: a UN Resident Coordinator blog

By
United Nations News
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‘Wisdom’ of Guatemala’s indigenous people needed for sustainable development: a UN Resident Coordinator blog

“Now more than ever, we must heed the wisdom of indigenous peoples. This wisdom calls upon us to care for the earth so that not only our generation may enjoy it, but that future generations may as well.” 

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== ‘Wisdom’ of Guatemala’s indigenous people needed for sustainable development: a UN Resident Coordinator blog

This wisdom is passed down to us through stories and spirits. Consider the example of Nawal, a supernatural spirit of harvests that can take on animal forms, according to Mesoamerican beliefs. On certain days in the indigenous calendar, people call on Nawal for a good harvest. It is a fine thing to have one good harvest. It is even better for the earth to yield its bounty again and again. To enjoy such repeated success, farmers in the area know they must respect the seasons, to plant, to sow, to let the land lay fallow for a time. 

This wisdom was also articulated in a declaration from 2012, on an auspicious date in the Mayan calendar. It was Oxlajuj B’aktun or a “change of era,” the end of a cycle that lasts more than 5,000 years. On that date, the three UN entities working with indigenous peoples came together in Guatemala, their first joint meeting outside the UN’s New York headquarters. 

Together, they issued a declaration pleading with humanity to respect human rights, promote harmony with nature, and pursue development that respects ancestral wisdom. These three bodies included the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues, the Mechanism of Experts on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This wisdom found its way into “K’atun: Our Guatemala 2032”, the national plan which has guided sustainable development of three successive administrations. It serves as the compass for the country’s UN Cooperation Framework for Sustainable Development 2020-2024, created in collaboration with the Government of Guatemala.

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== ‘Wisdom’ of Guatemala’s indigenous people needed for sustainable development: a UN Resident Coordinator blogWFP

 

The UN in Guatemala has been supporting K’iche’ indigenous farmers during the pandemic.

Indigenous Guatemalans hit hardest by coronavirus pandemic

To pursue K’atun, we must look at the status of indigenous peoples. In Guatemala, they are amongst the most vulnerable people because they are constantly displaced from their ancestral lands. Data from recent years show that the poverty rate among indigenous people was 79 per cent, almost 30 points above the national average. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic eight out of every 10 indigenous girls, boys and adolescents, live in poverty. Only six finish primary school, only two go to secondary school, and one goes to university. Six in 10 indigenous children under five years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition. 

COVID-19 is devastating for all of Guatemala. Many people are sick, some are dying, and countless others are losing their livelihoods because of the disease itself and because the quarantine prevents them from working and earning money. 

However hard the pandemic hits Guatemala, it will hit the indigenous peoples even harder. They were already the furthest left behind, and now they will be set back even more. The situation of indigenous women, who are often the main providers for their families, is even more worrisome.

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== ‘Wisdom’ of Guatemala’s indigenous people needed for sustainable development: a UN Resident Coordinator blogUN Women/Ryan Brown

 

The knowledge held by indigenous people in Guatemala is passed on through stories and art.

Indigenous people hold key to collective survival

And yet, indigenous people are seeking their own solutions, drawing on their own ingenuity. They are using traditional knowledge and practices to contain the disease. 

 We all must concern ourselves with the wellbeing of indigenous peoples, for their sake. We must respect their wisdom, for their sake. We must protect their human rights, for their sake. We must include them in decision-making, for their sake. It is only right. 

But we must also do this for the sake of all Guatemalans. All of Guatemala, indeed, the whole world, has much to learn from indigenous peoples. It is a painful irony that they have been so exploited and oppressed, and yet they may hold a key to our collective survival. It is a painful irony, too, that indigenous people are among those most affected by climate change, and yet they contribute the least to it. 

Without indigenous people, neither Guatemala nor the rest of the world will achieve sustainable development. Without indigenous people we cannot enjoy the gifts of the earth and maintain them for all those who will come after us. This is and must be the work of all governments and all people. 

75 years ago, the signatories of the United Nations Charter reaffirmed “the dignity and worth of the human person.” 

Now, let us reaffirm that belief once more. And let us ensure that indigenous people are included in it.”

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