UNODC and Cafés Malongo celebrate 5th anniversary of cooperation to help farmers worldwide

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13 February 2023

UNODC and Cafés Malongo celebrate 5th anniversary of cooperation to help farmers worldwide

Vienna (Austria), 13 February 2023 — In many of the world’s drug crop-growing areas, isolation and poverty are inherent. Farmers in vulnerable populations cultivate illicit drug crops such as coca and opium poppy because they are unable to obtain sufficient income from legal activities. This is due to factors including a lack of available markets for licit crops, an absence of basic infrastructure, and communities being pushed onto marginal land by conflict or natural disasters.

This is the understanding around which the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s concept of alternative development centres. UNODC’s alternative development interventions aim to provide sustainable livelihoods to communities that cultivate illicit drug crops. They also target communities that have stopped illicit cultivation but used to cultivate illicit drug crops in the past or are vulnerable to doing so again in the future.

The programmes have provided development assistance amounting to more than USD 70 million since 2020. UNODC teams have been working in Afghanistan, Bolivia, Colombia, Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar and Nigeria to support entrepreneurship, empower the disenfranchised and help to preserve the environment.

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The three phases of UNODC’s alternative development projects

The projects can be divided into three phases. The first is introducing high-value crops and new technologies. Technical assistance provided by UNODC delivers effective food security and product diversification initiatives to mitigate the effects on vulnerable groups of the eradication processes of illicit crops and their substitution for licit crops, in the context of sustainable agricultural development and in harmony with local ecosystems.

The second phase is consolidating farmers’ organizations, ensuring market access and competitiveness, and expanding to further farmers. Crop producers are encouraged to implement improved quality standards and generate sustainable income through strategic and commercial partnerships.

The final stage is ensuring sustainability and transferring responsibilities to communities. UNODC has supported farmers to obtain land ownership certificates, helped women to access land ownership, and educated farmers on sustainable forest management and reforesting valuable forest species to remove the root causes of deforestation in project areas.

These second and third phases are equally as important as the first. As UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly mentioned during the 63rd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 2020, “alternative development is much more than switching from one crop to another. It requires creating products for which there is market demand, supporting entrepreneurship, involving civil society, empowering the disenfranchised and preserving the environment. This is truly sustainable development.”

Highlighting the importance of market demand in successful income generation from producing licit alternative products, UNODC is working with partners worldwide to provide producers with access to sustainable markets. One of the prominent success stories has been UNODC’s partnership with the French coffee roaster Malongo to empower communities to grow coffee instead of illicit crops.

UNODC and Malongo’s cooperation agreements

Farmers from the Green Gold cooperative in Myanmar, ASIPAEM (a Spanish acronym for the local association of agroecological producers) in Bolivia, and the Vanmai Coffee Cooperative in Lao PDR directly signed long-term commercial agreements with Malongo, respectively in 2018, 2020 and 2021.

These agreements are forward contracts renegotiated each year according to stock exchange prices. They include provision of a roadmap for technical assistance to help ensure quality control and yields, and a plan to increase export to 400 tonnes over the next five years. In 2022, this partnership exported 300 tonnes of Fairtrade-certified coffee to Europe, generating profitable and sustainable income for thousands of farmer households in Bolivia, Myanmar, and Lao PDR.

As each cooperative has successfully obtained a Fairtrade license, Malongo can ensure that the coffee that reaches consumers is ethical and traceable, and that farmers are guaranteed a fair price for their coffee. Fairtrade certification promotes organic agriculture and supports agroforestry systems, and it prohibits the use of dangerous pesticides and GMO products. It also empowers women and helps each partner organization progress towards gender equity.

Soon, the alternative development programme will also be implemented in Colombia. In October 2022 UNODC and Malongo, in coordination with the Colombian government, selected two coffee-producing organizations, with high potential for quality production, with whom the partners will define a roadmap for technical assistance.

The producers are located in the municipalities of Ituango, in the department of Antioquia, and Miranda, in the department of Cauca. The partners aim to begin exporting Fairtrade premium coffee to Europe in 2023, from areas affected by illicit crop economies, and improving quality of life for 400 households.

Further information

UNODC’s alternative development project with Malongo has been supported by the French Interministerial Mission to Combat Drugs and Addictive Behaviour (Mildeca) in Bolivia, from the governments of Finland and Germany in Myanmar, and by the Germany, Japan, Luxembourg and United States governments in Lao PDR.

This project contributes directly towards the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

SDG 1 by addressing poverty;
SDG 2 by fighting hunger;
SDG 5 by working towards achieving gender equality and ethnic inclusiveness;
SDG 8 by growing local business and opening access to markets;
SDG 13 by contributing towards environmental protection; and
SDG 16 by strengthening institutions and the rule of law.

More aid reaches Syria’s earthquake victims but it’s not enough, say UN aid agencies

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United Nations News

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11 February 2023

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More aid reaches Syria’s earthquake victims but it’s not enough, say UN aid agencies

A second UN aid convoy reached northwest Syria on Friday to help earthquake victims, but humanitarians have warned that far more lifesaving help is needed, and much more quickly.

A total of 14 trucks crossed into opposition-held areas of Syria from Türkiye at Bab al-Hawa, the UN migration agency, IOM, confirmed.

DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO CLIMB AND @UN & PARTNERS ARE RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK TO SAVE LIVES & PROVIDE SUPPORT. 1,347 DEATHS & 2,295 INJURIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED SO FAR MAINLY IN ALEPPO, LATTAKIA, HAMA, IDLEB COUNTRYSIDE & TARTOUS. #SYRIA HCT FLASH UPDATE 4 HTTPS://T.CO/VM78OCKXQF — OCHA Syria (@OCHA_Syria) February 10, 2023

That crossing is the only one authorised for aid deliveries by the UN Security Council, which has prompted calls – including from the Secretary-General – “to explore all possible avenues to get aid and personnel into all affected areas”.

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Road access hampered

Echoing the growing international calls for quicker and easier access into northwest Syria via new routes, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that it was ready to move supplies there, although roads had been damaged by Monday’s earthquakes.

“That slows down our deliveries,” said Corinna Fleischer, WFP Regional Director in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe. “We need to be able to go across the borders, we need customs officials to be there in sufficient numbers…We need all parties to do the right thing now.”

Crossline deliveries need to restart and be stepped up from Government-controlled areas into opposition territory, the WFP official insisted, as she explained that a full 90 per cent of people in the northwest depend on humanitarian assistance.

Prepositioned stocks supplied by crossline deliveries that were carried before the earthquakes are being distributed already, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said, adding that it hoped an agreement with the Government would allow for “fast and regular access” to the northwest.

Supplies depleted

“We are running out of stocks and we need access to bring new stocks in,” Ms. Fleischer said, as she noted calls for the crossing at Bab al-Salam – also into northwest Syria – to be reopened.

In the first four days since deadly earthquakes struck the region, WFP has delivered food assistance to 115,000 people in Syria and Türkiye, it reported.

More than 22,000 have died, according to latest reports, and many tens of thousands are too scared to move back into buildings that they fear may collapse, forcing them to sleep in cars, tents and anywhere else they can find shelter, amid freezing winter temperatures.

image1170x530cropped - More aid reaches Syria’s earthquake victims but it’s not enough, say UN aid agencies — © UNICEF/Hasan Belal- In Jableh district in northwestern Syria, a photo of a family is held up in front of the building where they used to live.

Hot meals, ready-to-eat food rations and family food packages that require no cooking facilities have been provided already by WFP.

“For the thousands of people affected by the earthquakes, food is one of the top needs right now and our priority is to get it to the people who need it fast,” Ms. Fleischer said.

In total, WFP requires $77 million for food rations and hot meals to 874,000 quake-affected people in Türkiye and Syria. This includes 284,000 newly displaced people in Syria and 590,000 people in Türkiye, which includes 45,000 refugees and 545,000 internally displaced people.

Health emergency

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Emergency and search-and-rescue teams have deployed to assess and prioritize urgent needs and to provide life-saving assistance following the devastating earthquake near the Türkiye-Syria border.

In another update, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that it had released medical supplies in northwest Syria to 16 hospitals treating survivors of Monday’s earthquakes.

On Thursday, medical and surgical trauma supplies from the WHO’s logistical hub in Dubai also reached Türkiye, but needs remain massive, with hundreds of clinics in both Türkiye and Syria damaged in the disaster, along with many hospitals.

Specialist international emergency medical teams coordinated by the WHO have been deployed “and there will be more coming” to complement the national teams already hard at work, said WHO spokesperson, Dr. Margaret Harris.

“We provide a much wider range of services as appropriate and needed,” Dr. Harris continued, not least for mothers anxiously preparing to give birth. “Of course, we do indeed have the trauma specialists, the people who can deal with multiple fractures, crush injuries, know how to deal with the complications and can bring in their expertise and also their specialist equipment.”

Staggering 5.3 million made homeless

As the UN and partners step up the aid effort, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that some 5.3 million people in Syria may have been left homeless by the disaster at the start of the week.

“There are 6.8 million people already internally displaced in the country. And this was before the earthquake,” said Sivanka Dhanapala, UNHCR Representative in Syria, speaking from Damascus.

Providing shelter and relief items remains the focus of the UNCHR response, and ensuring that collective centres for displaced people have adequate facilities, tents, plastic sheeting, thermal blankets, sleeping mats and winter clothing.

UNFPA aiding women and girls

The UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA, said late on Friday that it has begun distributing 60,000 dignity kits to women and girls in the worst-affected areas of northwest Syria.

On Saturday, UNFPA plans to send two trucks from Türkiye as part of a cross-border convoy, carrying 330 reproductive health kits to 181 health facilities in northwest Syria. The kits will contain essential medicines, and equipment.

A convoy of 13 trucks arrived in Aleppo from Damascus on Friday, containing 9,500 female hygiene kits, 1,000 winter blankets and clothing for 5,000 people, which will be distributed to temporary shelters in Aleppo.

And more than 20 UNFPA-supported mobile health teams are taking reproductive health and psychosocial support to women and girls in the three most impacted areas of Aleppo governorate.

Six trucks are currently being prepared to carry supplies from Damascus to Lattakia and Hama over the weekend, UNFPA added.

History and Structure of the European Court of Justice

By

Robert Johnson

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9 February 2023

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History and Structure of the European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the highest court in the European Union (EU). Established in 1952, the ECJ is responsible for ensuring that laws passed by the EU legislature are consistent with treaties and regulations that govern the EU. The ECJ acts as the guardian of EU law, settling disputes among member states and between individuals and their governments.

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What is the European Court of Justice?

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the highest court in the European Union (EU). The ECJ has jurisdiction over all legal disputes involving member states and institutions of the EU. It is responsible for interpreting EU law and ensuring that the laws passed by the EU legislature are consistent with treaties and regulations that govern the union. The decisions of the ECJ are binding on all member states, meaning that any law challenged in an ECJ case must be overturned or amended if it is found to be in violation of EU law.

A summarized History of the European Court of Justice.

The ECJ was established in 1952 as part of the European Coal and Steel Community and became the central judicial institution for the European Union after the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The Court’s primary role is to ensure that all laws passed by EU institutions are consistent with the founding treaties of the union, as well as other related EU legislation. In addition, the Court has jurisdiction to review national court decisions if they raise questions concerning EU law.

The Structure of the European Court of Justice.

The European Court of Justice is made up of three distinct divisions. The first is the Court of Justice, which is the highest individual court in the transnational court system and responsible for interpreting EU law and addressing disputes between member countries or states. The second division consists of the General Court, which handles cases related to civil and commercial matters. Finally, the Civil Service Tribunal hears disputes concerning staff members employed by EU institutions.

How are Cases Brought to the European Court of Justice?

Cases can be brought to the European Court of Justice through a variety of channels. Any citizen or legal entity may bring an action before the court alleging that their rights have been violated due to a breach in EU law, and the court also has jurisdiction over any disputes between EU member countries or states. The court also has direct jurisdiction in matters related to infringement proceedings brought against a member state or institution. Finally, national courts may refer questions of interpretation of EU law to the court for clarification.

Conclusions

After closely examining the history and structure of the European Court of Justice, it can be concluded that it is a powerful court with an impressive caseload. By exercising direct jurisdiction over disputes relating to EU law and referring questions of interpretation to the court, individuals are assured that their rights are being safeguarded. Additionally, with its streamlined organizational framework and flexible procedure, the ECJ ensures that cases are handled efficiently and fairly.

The aura of the ‘famous’ Cuban doctors smashed in the European Parliament

By

Willy Fautre

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9 February 2023

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The aura of the ‘famous’ Cuban doctors smashed in the European Parliament — Photo credit RENEW EUROPE All rights reserved

Cuban doctors and healthcare personnel assigned to work abroad are victims of human trafficking and exploitation similar to slavery by their own state, declared MEP Javier Nart (Spain/ Renew Europe Political Group) when he opened the conference on this issue he was hosting in the European Parliament on 8 February.

For decades, Cuban doctors have been surrounded by an exceptional but undeserved aura from which the image of the country has largely benefitted. The guest speakers invited to testify with concrete facts have indeed shed a very different light on the reality hidden in the shadow of the Cuban propaganda. The so-called international Socialist solidarity with poor countries conceals very serious systemic labor and human rights violations as it was already highlighted by two resolutions of the European Parliament.

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Resolutions of the European Parliament

On 10 June 2021 (Recital I, Article 10), the Parliament stressed that

“Resolution 168 of 2010 of the Ministry of International Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba, imposes on all civil employees abroad who work for the state or for state-owned enterprises, including medical personnel, unjustified duties and obligations that violate human dignity and the most basic and fundamental human rights; whereas all civil employees who do not finish medical missions or decide not to go back to Cuba are punished under the Cuban Penal Code with eight years in prison; whereas these medical missions have been classified as a modern form of slavery according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (CUB6/2019) on the Cuban medical missions underscored the precarious
and inhumane working conditions of the medical personnel, allegations that were supported by Human Rights Watch and 622 testimonies”

and condemned

“the systemic labour and human rights violations committed by the Cuban state against its healthcare personnel assigned to work abroad on the medical, missions which are in breach of core ILO conventions ratified by Cuba; urges Cuba to effectively implement and comply with the American Convention on
Human Rights and ILO Conventions 29 and 105 respectively; calls on the Cuban Government to ensure the right of Cubans to exit and return to their country, including for doctors deployed in medical missions abroad, in line with
international human rights standards; calls on the Cuban Government to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and to ensure the rights to freedom of association, including the registration of organisations, and collective bargaining, in line with ILO standards.”

This condemnation was reiterated in another resolution of the Parliament adopted on 16 September 2021 (Recital M).

Working conditions of Cuban doctors

Cuba’s practices have a dramatic impact on the lives of its overseas workers who only get 5 to 20% of the salary mentioned in their contracts that governments or foreign companies pay for them. Indeed, the Cuban state keeps the rest as fees to organizations depending on the Cuban Communist Party. This form of exploitation has been copied and pasted from the North Korean system of exploitation of tens of thousands of their workers in dozens of countries, such as Russia, China and even until a very recent past in the Polish shipyards of Gdansk.

When the Cuban doctors arrive at their country of destination, their passports are immediately confiscated. They are not allowed either to travel with their legalized diplomas to avoid defection. They are not allowed to get married with a local resident and they have to inform their superior about any local love relationship. This scheme is very similar to trafficking and prostitution carried out by mafia groups anywhere around the world.

The Cuban Law on Labor Regulations contains a number of disciplinary measures for civilian overseas workers who may violate a long list of internal rules, such as participating in local social events without authorization, leaving the country without authorization, traveling in the country without authorization, living with unauthorized persons, and so on.

When they realize that they are exploited by their own state and dare ‘defect’, they are considered deserters by the Havana.

20230209 CUBA event at EUPARL RENEW EUROPE 52676252657 5f9b614a8e k 1024x683 - The aura of the ‘famous’ Cuban doctors smashed in the European Parliament — Photo credit RENEW EUROPE All rights reserved

Article 176.1 of the Penal Code of Cuba provides that three to eight years in prison will be imposed on anybody failing to go back home at the end of his mission or abandoning it before the end. A declaration of “Abandonment of Mission” considering him a deserter is then sent to all State institutions; he subsequently loses all his properties in Cuba and is denied entry to Cuba for a period of eight years. However, almost nobody tries to go back to Cuba because of the risk to be persecuted and imprisoned. It is estimated that more than 5,000 parents were unable to see their children for at least 8 years.

Magnitude of the human exploitation

It is estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 civilian professionals in Cuba are concerned every year and according to governmental sources, the total number of overseas workers (teachers, engineers, seafarers, artists, athletes…) is close to one million out of a population of 11-12 million.

Their work generates $8.5 billion while tourism only brings $2.9 billion.

In more than 50 years, over a hundred countries have hosted such Cuban assistance.

Are they volunteers?

20230209 J LARRONDO CUBA event at EUPARL RENEW EUROPE 52676252657 5f9b614a8e k 1024x683 - The aura of the ‘famous’ Cuban doctors smashed in the European Parliament — Photo credit RENEW EUROPE All rights reserved – Speaking J. Larrondo

A survey by Prisoners Defenders revealed that overseas workers were not volunteers but their decision was motivated by their extreme misery, their precarious labour conditions, the fear of retaliation for saying “no” or their indebtedness.

32% signed a contract and obtained a copy of it, 35% did not receive a copy and for 33% of the workers, a contract was not presented to them.

69,24% did not know the final destination (city, hospital, etc.) or defaulted upon arrival in the destination country.

20230209 CUBA event at EUPARL RENEW EUROPE MEPs Terstch and Gil 1024x683 - The aura of the ‘famous’ Cuban doctors smashed in the European Parliament — Photo credit RENEW EUROPE All rights reserved – MEP Hermann Tertsch and MEP Leopoldo Lopez Gil

All these facts were provided and discussed by Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders, Leonel Rodriguez Alvarez, Cuban doctor (online), Juan Pappier, deputy director at the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, and Hugo Acha, senior researcher at the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC).

MEP Leopoldo Lopez Gil (Group of Christian Democrats) and MEP Hermann Tertsch (vice-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group participated in the debate as well as representatives of civil society organizations.

First Person, Türkiye earthquake – 60 seconds of terror

By

United Nations News

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8 February 2023

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First Person, Türkiye earthquake – 60 seconds of terror

When Monday’s devastating earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria, killing thousands of people, Olga Borzenkova, a spokesperson for the UN migration agency (IOM), was in Gaziantep, Türkiye, one of the most affected areas. She describes her experience, and the emergency response effort that is underway.

“Like hundreds of thousands of other people in South-Eastern Türkiye, I was fast asleep when the world started to shake. I don’t really know how to describe to anyone who hasn’t felt an earthquake, let alone one of the biggest ever recorded in this region.

It’s just completely surreal. The floor and the walls were shaking, bending, and as we ran down the three floors to the street our only thought was to get far, far away from buildings.

It was sixty seconds of the worst terror I have ever felt. As we calmed down a bit and realised we had survived the shaking, we also realised it was raining, we were cold, and our legs felt like jelly, like they were not really part of our bodies. Everyone around us was calling out, shouting, screaming.

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Türkiye, ‘Saddening beyond words’

It took us a while but eventually we found a place to shelter after the urgency of the second quake, in a school. Along with hundreds of others we sat, lay down or stood on the basketball court, getting word to our families that we were safe.

Then I checked in with work and started to assess how I could help, how I could tell them what was going on, how to pay tribute to the wonderful people who were doing all they could to help me and thousands like me.

We spent Monday night in a shelter run by the Government. We felt a few trembles but it was comfortable and we had hot drinks and some food, as well as a place to sleep. Now I’m in the office, catching up on everything, including the heart-breaking news that we lost a colleague. Some others are injured, and have lost family members and, in some cases, homes. Others like my team member survived just by a miracle in Hatay.

It’s saddening beyond words. One minute we were sleeping, and the next we are part of one of the biggest disasters on the planet.

I am screaming inside, with despair, grief and fear. But I look at my colleagues, my neighbours, and my friends, who are affected much more than me, and they inspire me to carry on.

Massive shelter needs in Türkiye

image300x180cropped - First Person: Türkiye earthquake – 60 seconds of terror — Olga Borzenkova, IOM spokesperson, Gaziantep, Türkiye.

Türkiye is of course hugely prone to earthquakes and has built a world-class response mechanism. We’ve been working with them for more than 30 years and they are phenomenal partners. But even they will be stretched by this. This is a double whammy – over a million people who fled the war in Syria have temporary protection status in the area hardest hit by the quake.

We are talking to the government to see how best we can help. In all situations like this, the first need is for search and rescue, and I know teams are pouring into the country from across the globe to assist. There will of course be massive shelter needs – so many thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people will be homeless and the weather is freezing. They will need somewhere to sleep short term. And they will need warm clothes, water, food, heating, there will be trauma and crush injuries, there will be huge mental scars.

Communities will have been devastated: schools and hospitals will have been damaged, workplaces wiped out. The logistics of aid will be fiendish – roads and runways will need to be rapidly repaired. This will be an enormous rescue, response and recovery operation and we are ready to respond in any way the government asks us to, for as long as it takes.

First meeting of the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches, 9-10 February

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Newsdesk

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6 February 2023

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First meeting of the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches, 9-10 February

More than 500 senior government officials representing 100 countries and jurisdictions from around the world are expected to come together for the first meeting of the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA)starting with a high-level launch event at the OECD in Paris on Thursday 9 February at 14:00 (13:00 GMT).

The IFCMA is an initiative designed to help improve the global impact of emissions reduction efforts around the world through data and information sharing, evidence-based mutual learning and inclusive multilateral dialogue. It brings together all relevant policy perspectives from countries around the world, participating on an equal footing basis, to take stock of and consider the effectiveness of different carbon mitigation approaches.

With its technical work, the IFCMA seeks to enhance understanding of the full spectrum of carbon mitigation approaches available and their combined global impact. It will support individual countries’ emissions reduction efforts, facilitated by better information about the range of good practices available that could be adapted to their individual circumstances. It provides an inclusive and trusted platform for dialogue aimed at ensuring emissions reduction efforts in individual countries and jurisdictions are globally effective and do not just shift emissions to other parts of the world.

On 10 February 2023, senior and technical-level delegates from the climate, tax and structural economic policy communities in participating countries will meet to consider proposed terms of reference and governance arrangements for the IFCMA and initiate discussion on a range of substantive questions raised by the proposed technical work on carbon mitigation approaches. The 10 February discussions will be held in closed session.

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann will present the IFCMA initiative to accredited media in an embargoed advance briefing at the OECD on Thursday 9 February, from 10:00 (09:00 GMT). Journalists may register here for in-person attendance. Journalists unable to be physically present may register here to virtually participate in the advance briefing.

The IFCMA opening sessions on Thursday 9 February will also be webcast live, without registration.

For further information, journalists are invited to contact Lawrence Speer or Catherine Bremer in the OECD Media Office in Paris.

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Two more mosques were vandalised and set ablaze in a wave of Anti-Ahmadiyya hatred in Pakistan

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Newsdesk

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5 February 2023

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Two more mosques were vandalised and set ablaze in a wave of Anti-Ahmadiyya hatred in Pakistan

Anti-Ahmadiyya hatred – The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC), an NGO created by the Ahmadiyya community, reported yesterday that on 2nd February 2023 at around 3.30 in the afternoon, the opponents of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community razed to the ground the minarets of the Ahmadiyya Hall built in 1950 in Saddar Karachi. A wave of bigotry against Ahmadis has intensified since the start of 2023.

Nasim Malik, General Secretary IHRC reported that “Once again, we want to inform you that in the late night on 3rd February 2023, unknown assailants while entering the boundary wall of the Ahmadi Mosque in Noor Nagar district Umerkot, Sindh Pakistan, set the fire on mosque by pouring gasoline. Due to the fire, all mats and chairs were burned. Local residents became aware of the fire when they arrived for the early morning prayers”.

The letter from Malik continued saying that “in another targeted attack, some unknown persons on 3rd February 2023, during late night, damaged the minarets of the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Goth Chaudary Javed Ahmed at Goth Ghazi Khan Mirani, also in district Mirpurkhas, Sindh Pakistan. The Ahmadiyya Mosque was set on fire. Intolerance and hatred towards Ahmadis in Pakistan are nothing new; rather it has spread over decades and gained momentum each passing under the State’s supervision. Systematic marginalisation of Ahmadis in all walks of life because of their religious beliefs is not considered condemnable and Ahmadis are being treated without even basic human rights.”

The letter continued saying:

“Such brazen acts with impunity violate fundamental rights of religious freedom and also fly in the face of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s decision in 2014 to protect places of worship. There is no legal justification for this action. These are state-sanctioned incidents of violence by extremists against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Unfortunately, Government Officials in Pakistan are engaged in such illegal activities to win the pleasure and approval of the ferocious opponents of the Ahmadis. We request the Government of Pakistan to respect and follow the eight-point directive given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2014, which emphasised the provision of protection for the places of worship of all religions in Pakistan. The destruction of Ahmadiyya Mosques in Pakistan is in glaring contravention of Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Pakistan verdict of 2014.
On July 13, 2021, UN human rights experts expressed their deep concern over the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community around the world and called on the international community to step up efforts in bringing an end to the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
We once again urge the international community to pressure the Government of Pakistan to honor its responsibility to provide protection to all its citizens, ensure freedom of religious practice to Ahmadis, and bring perpetrators of such vicious attacks to justice. The Government of Pakistan must also bring its laws and practices in conformity with international standards as ordained by Article 2, 18 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 25, 26.”

The European Times wonders if the European Union and Pakistan will ever talk effectively about this issue in any negotiation so that the lifes and properties of Ahmadies are duly respected.

SUDAN: The Vice President of the Sovereign Council receives the UN Independent Expert for Human Rights

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Newsdesk

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2 February 2023

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SUDAN: The Vice President of the Sovereign Council receives the UN Independent Expert for Human Rights

The Vice President of the Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, received today the United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, Mr. Radhouane Nouicer.

The meeting discussed the human rights situation in Sudan, the developments achieved, as well as the governmental efforts to strengthen the protection of human rights and achieve justice, as well as the current political developments in the country to achieve stability.

The Vice President of the Sovereign Council expressed Sudan’s willingness to cooperate with all UN mechanisms in the protection and promotion of human rights in the country, stressing the availability of political will to promote human rights, referring to the efforts made to protect civilians and address the conditions of the displaced, in addition to the efforts to secure villages for voluntary return, camps for the displaced and the organization of tribal reconciliations in Darfur, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, calling for support to state efforts to create a conducive environment for voluntary return and provide basic conditions for voluntary return, stressing the importance of attracting international support, to effectively contribute to efforts to promote and protect human rights in Sudan, in addition to improving the conditions of refugees.

For his part, Mr Radhouane Nouicer stressed the importance of the cooperation of the Sudanese government to improve and achieve new developments in the field of human rights, welcoming the framework agreement signed last December to complete the transition period. The developments achieved by the Government of Sudan in lifting the state of emergency and the release of prisoners, indicating that he had heard during his visit many statements on developments in the country, stressing the need for cooperation to promote human rights in Sudan.

Morocco handed over the T-72B tanks to Kyiv

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News desk

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1 February 2023

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Morocco handed over the T-72B tanks to Kyiv

Morocco handed over T-72B tanks to Kyiv, which were modernized in the Czech Republic. This was reported on the Menadefense website.

About 20 tanks have already been sent to the war zone.

The article notes that the decision for this delivery was made under pressure during the April negotiations at the Ramstein base in Germany.

This meeting was attended by Morocco and Tunisia.

According to Menadefense data, in 1999-2000 the Moroccan army purchased 148 T-72 tanks from Belarus, as well as 136 T-72B and 12 T-72BK.

A day earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron, asked about the possibility of Paris supplying Kyiv with Leclerc tanks, said that “nothing is impossible”.

We remind you that in July 2015, the Ukrainian state company Ukroboronservis also turned to Morocco with a request for spare parts for its T-72 tanks. The French publication Le Journal de l’Afrique reported that Washington had managed to convince Morocco to supply Ukraine with components for the armored vehicles “under conditions of the strictest secrecy”. According to the weekly’s sources, US diplomacy is expanding its operations to obtain arms for Ukraine from Africa.

Illustrative photo: Two T-72B tanks at the Chebarkul training ground, Russia, April 2017.

Study Finds That Exercise Curbs Insulin Production

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Newsdesk

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31 January 2023

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Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels in the body. A new study conducted by the University of Würzburg suggests that exercise could curb the production of this hormone.

Insulin is a vital hormone that plays a crucial role in regulating sugar metabolism in humans and other organisms. The mechanisms by which it performs this task are well understood. However, less is known about the control of <span class=”glossaryLink” aria-describedby=”tt” data-cmtooltip=”

insulin

Insulin is a hormone that regulates the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. It is produced by the pancreas and released into the bloodstream when the level of glucose in the blood rises, such as after a meal. Insulin helps to transport glucose from the bloodstream into the cells, where it can be used for energy or stored for later use. Insulin also helps to regulate the metabolism of fat and protein. In individuals with diabetes, their body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t respond properly to insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels, which can lead to serious health problems if left untreated.

” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>insulin-secreting cells and the resulting insulin secretion.

Researchers from the Biocenter of Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Germany have made new discoveries about the control of insulin secretion in their recent study published in Current Biology. The team, led by Dr. Jan Ache, used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Interestingly, this fly also releases insulin after eating, but unlike humans, the hormone is not produced by pancreas cells, but rather by nerve cells in the brain.

The figure shows the relationship between the movement and regulation of insulin-producing cells in the fruit fly. Credit: Sander Liessem / University of Wuerzburg

Electrophysiological measurements in active flies

The JMU group figured out that the physical activity of the fly has a strong effect on its insulin-producing cells. For the first time, the researchers measured the activity of these cells electrophysiologically in walking and flying Drosophila.

The result: when Drosophila starts to walk or fly, its insulin-producing cells are immediately inhibited y. When the fly stops moving, the activity of the cells rapidly increases again and shoots up above normal levels.

“We hypothesize that the low activity of insulin-producing cells during walking and flight contributes to the provision of sugars to meet the increased energy demand,” says Dr. Sander Liessem, first author of the publication. “We suspect that the increased activity after exercise helps to replenish the fly’s energy stores, for example in the muscles.”

Blood sugar plays no role in regulation

The JMU team was also able to demonstrate that the fast, behavior-dependent inhibition of insulin-producing cells is actively controlled by neural pathways. “It is largely independent of changes in the sugar concentration in the fly’s blood,” explains co-author Dr. Martina Held.

It makes a lot of sense for the organism to anticipate an increased energy demand in this way to prevent extreme fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Insulin has hardly changed in evolution

Do the results allow conclusions to be drawn about humans? Probably.

“Although the release of insulin in fruit flies is mediated by different cells than in humans, the insulin molecule and its function have hardly changed in the course of evolution,” says Jan Ache. In the past 20 years, using Drosophila as a model organism, many fundamental questions have already been answered that could also contribute to a better understanding of metabolic defects in humans and associated diseases, such as diabetes or obesity.

Less insulin means longevity

“One exciting point is that reduced insulin activity contributes to healthy aging and longevity,” Sander Liessem tells us. This has already been shown in flies, mice, humans, and other <span class=”glossaryLink” aria-describedby=”tt” data-cmtooltip=”

species

A species is a group of living organisms that share a set of common characteristics and are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. The concept of a species is important in biology as it is used to classify and organize the diversity of life. There are different ways to define a species, but the most widely accepted one is the biological species concept, which defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce viable offspring in nature. This definition is widely used in evolutionary biology and ecology to identify and classify living organisms.

” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>species. The same applies to an active lifestyle. “Our work shows a possible link explaining how physical activity could positively affect insulin regulation via neuronal signaling pathways.”

Further steps in the research

Next, Jan Ache’s team plans to investigate which neurotransmitters and neuronal circuits are responsible for the activity changes observed in insulin-producing cells in the fly. This is likely going to be challenging: A plethora of messenger substances and hormones are involved in neuromodulatory processes, and individual substances can have opposite or complementary effects in combination.

The group is now analyzing the many ways in which insulin-producing cells process input from the outside. They are also investigating other factors that could have an influence on the activity of these cells, for example, the age of the fly or their nutritional state.

“In parallel, we are investigating the neuronal control of walking and flight behavior,” explains Jan Ache. The long-term goal of his group, he says, is to bring these two research questions together: How does the brain control walking and other behaviors, and how does the nervous system ensure that the energy balance is regulated accordingly?

Reference: “Behavioral state-dependent modulation of insulin-producing cells in Drosophila” by Sander Liessem, Martina Held, Rituja S. Bisen, Hannah Haberkern, Haluk Lacin, Till Bockemühl and Jan M. Ache, 28 December 2022, Current Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.005

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