The European Commission is putting the interests of multinational drug companies above those of millions of people with no access to affordable life-saving medicines, warn Oxfam and Health Action International (HAI) Europe ahead of this week’s round of free trade talks between the EU and US in Washington, DC.
In a new report, Trading Away Access to Medicines-Revisited, Oxfam and HAI Europe argue that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could pose a serious threat to public health in Europe and set a terrible precedent for future trade deals between the EU and developing countries.
“It is shameful that Europe is being pushed to embrace American-style patent policies as part Read More
In an effort to put an end to the long-running dispute between South African citrus industry and the EU, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) will put together a panel of experts to scrutinize the issue.
The dispute relates to various instances of the fungal disease citrus black spot (CBS) being detected on South African shipments to the EU, which led to Europe imposing strict measures on the country’s growers.
Earlier this month South Africa announced it had suspended the export of some citrus varieties to the EU in order to avoid any more interceptions of fruit with CBS, but the industry maintains the EU’s measures are inconsistent with the level Read More
The foreign ministers of BRICS countries have called for strengthening cooperation and promoting closer economic partnership at a meeting on the margins of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.
The ministers, who met Thursday, stressed on the need to promptly convene a meeting to advance intra-BRICS economic, trade and investment cooperation, as stated in the Fortaleza Declaration adopted in Brazil at the sixth BRICS summit, the Permanent Mission of India to UN said in a press release Friday.
The minister congratulated Brazil for organising the summit and noted that the Fortaleza Action Plan was being successfully implemented. They said the decisions to establish a new development bank and the Read More
Somali President has told the United Nations general assembly on Friday that the world will see a different peaceful, democratic and viable Somalia come 2016.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has told the assembly that already tangible progress has been made particularly on peace building and security, eliminating terrorist group Al Shabaab and reviving key government institutions that were affected by the two decades of civil strife in the horn of African country.
“We are telling the world that the future of Somalia is bright and come 2016 you will witness united, peaceful and prosperous Somalia,” He said.
He called for the support of the international community in the process of stabilization saying Read More
Let me first congratulate you on your election as the President of the 69th session of United Nations General Assembly.
It is a truly a great honour to address you for the first time as the Prime Minister of India. I stand here conscious of the hopes and expectations of the people of India.
I am also mindful of the expectations of the world from 1.25 billion people.
India is a country that constitutes one-sixth of humanity; a nation experiencing economic and social transformation on a scale rarely seen in history.
Every nation’s world view is shaped by its civilization and philosophical tradition. India’s ancient wisdom sees the Read More
European leaders addressing the United Nations General Assembly today raised the spectre of what some saw as Russia’s largely unchallenged actions in Ukraine and the march of armed militants through large swaths of northern Iraq as emblematic of an international system in dire need of repair.
“Some people in this chamber may regard [the Ukraine crisis] as nothing more than a regional conflict. But I am convinced…this conflict affects each and every one of us. Not just any State, but a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia, has annexed Crimea, unilaterally changing the borders of Europe and thus broken international law,” said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister for Foreign Affairs Read More
We, Leaders of the Commonwealth, representing over 2 billion people and over one quarter of the United Nations membership in our 53 member states, with extensive diversity in our growth and development, present the following shared views on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Our perspectives on the Post-2015 Development Agenda are based on our shared values and principles as expressed in the Commonwealth Charter as well as our individual experiences.
We welcome the inclusive inter-governmental process in the United Nations to achieve a concise, compelling, ambitious and balanced development agenda beyond 2015, building on and reinforcing existing agreements, and recognising the many outcomes that may feed in to the intergovernmental process.
We welcome Read More
NEW YORK: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have called on the global community to cooperate in efforts to address the threat posed by foreign terrorists, including by preventing their recruitment, movement across borders and cutting their financial support.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj participated in the BRICS foreign ministers meeting along with her counterparts from other nations in bloc on September 25 on margins of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly here.
The ministers supported the UN Security Council resolution adopted unanimously under a session chaired by US President Barack Obama on September 24 that requires countries to have laws that prosecute nationals Read More
MODERATOR: Good evening, everyone. Could we close those doors?
Thank you for coming. We have a background briefing on Africa-related issues, and we have about 20 minutes, so we’ll get right into it. Again, background briefing, so no names or titles. We have a senior State Department official. Of course, for your – for clarity, this is [Senior State Department Official]. And I will turn it over to [Senior State Department Official] for some remarks, and then we’ll get to questions, so please.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Good, thank you very much. I see one or two faces I recognize in the room. It’s really great to be here with you. Read More
Kenyan real estate developers were urged on Wednesday to embrace Chinese innovation to meet the demand of housing in the country.
The Chief Business Officer of the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Samuel Makome said Chinese building efficiency has been tested and proven for its effectiveness in industry-focused technologies.
“Innovation is not about something new, but what has been tried and verified. China has demonstrated that even with low-cost technology, it is still possible to come up with world-class architectural designs,” Makome said in Nairobi.
He was speaking during the KCB Developers Club pre-trip briefing to China that will see a group of over 50 developers travel to the Far East country for Read More