26 September 2007
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• Source: Kyodo News

TOKYO, Sept. 26 — Japan and the United States are considering proposing that the Group of Eight major industrial powers eliminate or lower import tariffs on energy-saving products such as fuel cells, solar cells and wind power generators to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Japanese government sources said Wednesday.

The two countries may float the proposal during a two-day U.S.-sponsored meeting of major greenhouse gas emitters starting Thursday in Washington, the sources said. Japan wants to make it one of the major achievements at next year’s G-8 leaders’ summit in the country. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Multilateral Trade, The Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Nuclear Safety

26 September 2007
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• Source: Borneo Bulletin

On September 27-28 in Washington, DC, the US will host the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, an initiative based on the fundamental premise that climate change is a generational challenge that requires a global response.

This meeting is the first in a series of gatherings that will include 17 of the world’s major economies, developed and developing, as well as the United Nations.

Combined, all participating countries represent about 85 per cent of the global economy and 80 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Development, The Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Nuclear Safety

25 September 2007
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• Source: Financial Times

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, will today seek to build on her success as a climate change powerbroker by calling on members of the United Nations to take”concerted action” on the issue by the end of this year, her aides said yesterday.

The German leader, who won international praise in June for finding consensus with the US on global warming at the G8 rich nations’ summit in northern Germany, will tell the UN General Assembly that unity with emerging economies is needed to limit greenhouse emissions by mid-century.

Yet Ms Merkel’s speech - her first appearance as chancellor before the UN - is also being seen in Berlin as reinforcing her strong domestic standing, at a time of increasing political strains within her ruling coalition on security and other issues. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under The Environment, Climate Change, United Nations Reform

25 September 2007
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• Source: Agence France Presse

Rock star Bono on Tuesday urged wealthy nations to step up donations to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria “aggressively” at a major donor meeting in Berlin this week.

“When something works this well it deserves to be scaled up — aggressively. No more excuses for under-funding this most high-minded public health mechanism,” the U2 singer said in a statement released by his Africa advocacy group DATA. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Development, Health and Infectious Disease

22 September 2007
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• Author: STEVEN CHASE
• Source: The Globe and Mail

MEECH LAKE, QUE. — Leading financial regulators from around the world are drawing up reform proposals to help Group of Seven countries avoid a repeat of this summer’s credit-crunch-inspired market turmoil, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said yesterday.

G7 countries have asked the Financial Stability Forum – composed of G7 government finance departments plus the world’s leading central banks and regulatory bodies – to examine the causes of the credit crunch and recommend what action need be taken. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Global Financial Crises

21 September 2007
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• Source: Kyodo News

TOKYO, Sept. 21 — Group of Seven financial chiefs will discuss ways to stabilize the unsettled global financial markets when they huddle for their regular meeting in Washington in mid-October, a senior Japanese official said Friday.

‘’The G-7 will debate various policy issues to restore stability in global financial markets based on a report to be submitted by the Financial Stability Forum, which advises the G-7,'’ Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Naoyuki Shinohara told reporters. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Global Financial Crises, Financial Supervision, Corporate and Public Governance

18 September 2007
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• Source: Kommersant International

New French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner begins a visit to Moscow today and will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time this morning. Kouchner is well-known in Russia as the founder of Doctors without Borders and as the head of the UN mission in Kosovo from 1999 to 2001. Russian-French relations are still being determined after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy president there. Sarkozy and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the last G8 conference and clearly intended to work together, but the new French government’s orientation toward the United States draws it farther from Russia in foreign policy. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Multilateral Trade, East-West Relations and Russia

18 September 2007
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• Source: New Zealand Press Association

Berlin, Sept 18 Reuters - Financial market transparency will be a major topic for discussion at a meeting of the Group of Seven economic powers in Washington next month, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Tuesday. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Financial Supervision, Corporate and Public Governance, Democratization and Human Rights

18 September 2007
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• Source: All Africa

Sep 18, 2007 (Liberia Government/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) — The world’s leading industrialized countries under the banner of the G-8 have taken another measure to relieve Liberia of its multilateral debt burden.

G-8 countries have announced a contribution of 324.5 million dollars in Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The amount will go towards financing the cost of clearing Liberia’s arrears at the International Monetary Fund. The G-8 countries’ contribution represents 60-percent of the cost for financing Liberia’s arrears at the IMF.

A communication from the German Minister for Development Cooperation, Madam Heidemarie Wieczoreck-Zeul, addressed to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, disclosed that Germany and some G-8 countries are also currently holding discussions with other countries to achieve a rapid solution to the Liberian debt issue and to ensure that the rest of the costs are covered. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Development

16 September 2007
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• Author: Janice Kennedy
• Source: Ottawa Citizen

With his easy smile, self-deprecating manner and earnest brown eyes, Vancouver professor Michael Byers looks nothing at all like a scourge or a thorn. But he is both, and tirelessly.

Ask Stephen Harper.

An insistent thorn in the prime minister’s side, Byers is also the scourge of “Canada’s New Government.” Possessing the most impeccable of political and intellectual credentials, the 41-year-old scholar and expert on international law returned just three years ago from teaching stints outside the country to add his voice to the public dialogue.

And he minces no words. “I’ve been very open,” he said during a visit to Ottawa last week. “I don’t think Stephen Harper is an appropriate leader for this country.” Byers believes Harper is leading the country into a lockstep arrangement with the United States, one that is steadily erasing our border, eroding our independence and hobbling our capacity to be a major player — and a major contributor — on the world stage. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Regional Security

15 September 2007
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• Source: RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian and U.S. experts accompanied by Azerbaijani officials will visit Tuesday the Gabala radar in Azerbaijan to consider the use of the radar for monitoring, a senior Russian military official said Saturday.

“Following three months of work, meetings and briefings where various proposals were considered, we will proceed to action on September 18,” said Major-General Alexander Yakushin, first deputy chief of the Russian Space Troops. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under East-West Relations and Russia, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

13 September 2007
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• Source: Deutsche Welle

DW-WORLD.DE spoke with political scientist Thomas Meyer about the Social Democratic Party’s current identity crisis and where it can go from here.

Thomas Meyer is a political scientist at Dortmund University and director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s political academy. He is also deputy head of the Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) Core Values Commission.

DW-WORLD.DE: Membership of Germany’s mainstream parties has been steadily dwindling. If this trend continues, does it mean their days are numbered? Thomas Meyer: Membership is on the decline, so in this respect the role of the mainstream parties is changing. More parties are needed in order to form government coalitions, and there are more parties in the party system, which inevitably means the system is changing.Does that the fact that the mainstream parties are shrinking mean that the state has a more limited power to act? (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Other

13 September 2007
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• Author: Noah Barkin
• Source: Reuters News

BERLIN, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were expected to form the perfect couple — a pair of like-minded conservative leaders who would work hand in hand to heal Europe after its Iraq divisions and failed constitution.

But four months after Sarkozy roared into the Elysee Palace, it is the differences, in both style and substance, between the brash new French president and the discreet German chancellor that are beginning to draw attention. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Other

13 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

The Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Larijani said that 5+1 countries had urged Iran to resolve the issues with the Agency and considered Iran’s move as positive. Referring to recent agreements between Iran and IAEA, Larijani said that they were based on “modalities” and frameworks from previous agreements. Larijani made these remarks during a live interview on Iranian television. The following is the text of the interview as broadcast by IRTV2 at 1916gmt on 9 September. Subheads inserted editorially:

On Iran nuclear talks with IAEA and EU (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Energy and Nuclear Safety, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

13 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: All Africa

Sep 13, 2007 (Inter Press Service/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) — This week, Stephen Lewis, the outspoken former U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, was invested as Knight Commander of the Most Dignified Order of Moshoeshoe — a knighthood which is Lesotho’s highest honour.

IPS correspondent Am Johal spoke with Lewis by telephone from the Nairobi Serena Hotel about the politics of HIV control strategies, including the philosophy of “harm reduction”, which recognises that a certain segment of the population will engage in risky behaviours like casual sex, prostitution and drug use, and seeks to mitigate the consequences rather than punish the behaviour itself. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Education and Social Policy, Development, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

13 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Inter Press News Service

Are the United Nations and the United States trying to outdo each other by hosting two parallel summit meetings on the same subject — climate change — during the same week at the end of September?

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is hosting a high-level meeting of world leaders on Sep. 24 in New York, while U.S. President George W. Bush has invited 20 of 'the world’s largest polluting countries' to a summit in Washington Sep. 27-28. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under The Environment, Climate Change

12 September 2007
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• Author: Alexander Smith
• Source: Reuters News

MOSCOW, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Russian companies face strong resistance when it comes to buying assets overseas, but a combination of ambition and cash will ultimately win the day, business leaders at the Reuters Russia Investment Summit said.

“We have experienced this at our level. There is … discrimination against Russian business. But Russians can’t sit and blame the West for this. Their PR is bad, that is one of the big reasons,” leading Moscow-based financier Boris Jordan said.

Jordan, who helped advise on the country’s first privatisations in the 1990s and now runs a $2 billion private equity and advisory firm called Sputnik Group, is confident Russian companies won’t be deterred. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Multilateral Trade, Investment and Competition Policy, East-West Relations and Russia

12 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: RIA Novosti

BAKU, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Azerbaijani-Russian-U.S. consultations on the joint use of the Gabala radar station that Russia leases from Azerbaijan will be held within a week, a spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

“The meeting has been put off several times, for technical reasons, but it will take place soon, possibly next week,” Khazar Ibragim said.

He said Russian, U.S. and Azerbaijani delegations will include both technical experts and diplomatic officials, adding that the Azerbaijani team will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Energy and Nuclear Safety, East-West Relations and Russia, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD, Regional Security

12 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: The Commission of the European Communities - Press Releases

Benita Ferrero-Waldner European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Slovenia’s upcoming presidency

Ambassadors’ Conference of the Republic of Slovenia Brussels, September 11, 2007

Dear Minister Rupel,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be here. Not just as a neighbour and long-time friend of your country. But also as the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy who will work very closely with Slovenia in the months ahead.

Slovenia’s Presidency will indeed be special. Slovenia will be the first “new Member State” to assume this office, and it will do so at critical juncture of EU integration.

A Presidency is a logistical challenge . I headed the Task Force running Austria‚Äôs EU Presidency in 1998 - at the time also the first “new member” to take over. So I know what I am talking about! (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Investment and Competition Policy, Development, Energy and Nuclear Safety, East-West Relations: Central and Eastern Europe

11 September 2007
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• Source: AAP MediaNet Press Releases

TOKYO, Sept. 10 /KYODO JBN-AsiaNet/– Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a general policy speech in a plenary session of the Diet on September 10, 2007.

Prime Minister Abe stated in his speech, “We must not stop this reform — for the future of our country and for our children. It was out of this sole determination that I decided to stay on. I would like to fulfill my responsibilities to the people by further advancing reforms with renewed determination, with the remorse based on the harsh election results and the resolve to fight for the people.” (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Employment, Education and Social Policy, Development, Conflict Prevention and Human Security, Democratization and Human Rights

11 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: WPS Russian Media Monitoring Agency

It isn’t hard to understand why America’s presidential hopefuls haven’t picked up on anti-Russian prompting from analysts. The Bush administration has disarmed its opponents. It’s been second to none in criticizing the Kremlin’s domestic and foreign policies.

Labor Day, September 3, marked the start of official campaigning for the American elections of 2008. Unofficial campaigning - especially for the White House - has been under way for over a year already. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under East-West Relations and Russia

11 September 2007
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• Source: Lloyd's List

UNITED STATES — President George W Bush will mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will address family members of those who died in the attack on the Pentagon, Washington DC.

ETHIOPIA — Ethiopians will celebrate the start of a new millennium. The country has retained its own Orthodox calendar, which is eight years behind that of the West.

VIENNA ‚Äî145th OPEC Ordinary Meeting. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Other, East-West Relations: Central and Eastern Europe

11 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: US Fed News

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend an international conference of Iraq’s neighbors and others in Istanbul at the end of October. The meeting being organized by Turkish and Iraqi officials will be a follow-up to a similar ministerial-level meeting held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in May. VOA’s David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here are pleased over Turkey’s commitment to hold the neighbors conference, which they say will be a useful vehicle for increasing support for Iraq’s government, and for airing regional concerns including alleged Syrian and Iranian support for Iraqi insurgents.

Newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Monday that delegates from the Baghdad government, all Iraq’s neighbors, as well the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and the G8 industrial powers, will attend the two-day meeting tentatively set for October 31.

The meeting is a follow-on to an initial neighbors conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh May 4 that produced a joint communique in which all participants condemned violence in Iraq and pledged to support Iraqi democracy and sovereignty. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Regional Security

10 September 2007
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• Author: Jeremy Greenstock
• Source: New Statesman

Does Britain really understand its true position in the new world order? Jeremy Greenstock, Britain’s former ambassador to the UN, gives a controversial analysis.

Is Britain being adventurous enough in its foreign policy analysis? Rapid shifts in the international distribution of power are creating a new political geography, and neither North America nor western Europe can claim to have read the global map right over the past few years. It is therefore a good moment to venture out of comfort zones and pose some awkward questions. Without doing this, we are unlikely to decide on the right action in an increasingly unpredictable environment.

First, where does the real value lie in the transatlantic relationship, especially for the UK? Talk of a special closeness with the United States is reassuring, but tends to paper over the crucial point that American and British policymakers now view the world and its currents through different lenses - the American focus is on exercising power, ours on adapting to the weather. This makes us more realistic than they are in assessing the context for international action and the consequences of policy choices - perhaps because they expect more from the assertion of power than global circumstances will support. Iraq is a clear example of this: events on the ground have created that reality, not American decisions, because the coalition’s deployments never had any impact on the vast majority of Iraqis. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Other, Regional Security

10 September 2007
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Dow Jones International News

BERLIN (Dow Jones)–German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday pushed for the European Union to take the initiative to achieve more transparency on financial markets amid subprime woes.

The call to give this initiative top priority in the 27-member strong bloc came amid recent market turmoil caused by the crisis in the U.S. mortgage lending market. Some German banks have been particularly hard hit. (more…)

Filed by Ivana Jankovic under Financial Supervision, Corporate and Public Governance, Energy and Nuclear Safety